The flesh you so fancifully fryIs not succulent, tasty or kindIt’s death for no reasonAnd death for no reason is murder.— “Meat is Murder” by The Smiths I love the meat.— U.S. President Donald Trump Meat remains firmly at the center of the culture wars, especially in the U.S. Trump this week poked fun at James Talarico, the Democratic candidate for U.S.
Senate in Texas, saying he was absent from the campaign trail after being “food poisoned by meat ’cause he can’t stand it.” Talarico has, in Republican eyes, committed the terrible crime of being a vegan. But the small issue there is that Talarico has said on multiple occasions that he is not vegan, or even vegetarian for that matter, and there are photos of him eating meat. That doesn’t seem to matter, though, because the Venn diagram of vegans and members of the MAGA movement is presumably just two separate circles — especially in Texas, where the state vegetable is steak.
The implication is that if you don’t eat meat, and preferably lots of it, you are somehow weak (not an issue here at POLITICO Towers, where we have kebabs available 24/7). Trump, of course, has a famously balanced diet, with his favorite meal being two Big Macs, two Filet-O-Fish and a large chocolate milkshake. And speaking of rump, Trump also used this week’s campaign speeches to comment on the “one hell of a beautiful ass” of rapper Nicki Minaj.
Minaj — whose hits include “Super Bass,” “Starships” and “Anaconda” — has for some time been cozying up to Trump, whose own hits include “Covfefe,” “SAD!” and “Threatening to invade Greenland.” Back in Europe, meat is also a hot topic, with the makers of snacks worried that an EU ban on terms such as “steak” and “chicken” for vegetarian alternatives could also be applied to potato chip (or crisp, if you will) flavors such as “pepperoni and marshmallow,” “corned beef and bubblegum” and “lamb shank and custard.” Older readers may remember the scandal that rocked Europe in 2013 after it was found that burgers, lasagnas and other meat products contained a significant amount of horse meat. Many of these meals were made in France and ended up on the British market, a situation the French government of the time described as “really funny.” “Working at the ECB left me seeing stars.” Can you do better? Email us at [email protected] or get in touch on X @POLITICOEurope.
Thanks for all the entries. Here’s the best one from our mailbag — there’s no prize except the gift of laughter, which I think we can all agree is far preferable to cash or booze.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
