Nomad narcosis ... "she wiggles her bottom".

[Tarquin Thunderthighs lll]

This from the man whom, only a few weeks ago, I witnessed scoffing not one, but a BRACE of large barbecue chicken pizzas within the space of a short afternoon... with desert shovelled in between.

This was before I read the book. And for the record, I have never eaten sand.

It can be arranged... 

[Mince]

You might like eating your own words, but I'll stick to vegetables.

[Tarquin Thunderthighs lll]

Time will tell, my friend.   

[Mince]

Is this 'time' we're talking about the time it will take for you to realise I am right?

[Tarquin Thunderthighs lll]

That will be on my death bed, and you will no doubt turn up with a bunch of organic grapes and a smug grin.

[Tarquin Thunderthighs lll]

Oh, and by the way, this isn't about you being right or wrong - it's about you believing every word of a book you've just read without question, changing your life as a result, and branding the millions of non-plant-eaters who live beyond their 80s as a bunch of stubborn freakish old gits who got lucky.

Make sure you look both ways when you cross the road, won't you!

[Mince]

it's about you believing every word of a book you've just read without question

I would certainly question the validity of one double-blind study: but repeatable results from several double-blind studies on groups of thousands, sometimes hundreds of thousands of people I would question less. The author points out the deficiencies in each of the studies he draws from. And I figure that stupidly not questioning a book that is based on thousands of scientific studies is better than simply not reading anything at all that might benefit your health.

changing your life as a result

I believe this was the argument smokers gave decades ago to those annoying non-smokers who changed their life after unquestioningly believing what was said in books written by doctors and backed up by medical studies and the statistics concerning deaths from smoking.

and branding the millions of non-plant-eaters who live beyond their 80s as a bunch of stubborn freakish old gits who got lucky.

George Burns smoked and lived to 100 and proved without a shadow of a doubt that the hundreds of thousands of people who die each year from smoking-related diseases actually die from not being on a plant-based diet.

Make sure you look both ways when you cross the road, won't you!

Why? My grandmother never looked at all when she crossed the road, and she lived until she was 98.

[Tarquin Thunderthighs lll]

I think you're duty bound to scrutinise every single word of each survey, and personally track down and interrogate each one of the people who contributed to them to verify the accuracy of their contributions, before you say another word on the matter.

Hopefully by then, I'll be long gone, and may even enjoy an extra few weeks of life beyond the almost inevitable early death from terminal boredom should you not take my well-intentioned advice.

[Tarquin Thunderthighs lll]

Anyone got a fag...?

[Mince]

I think you're duty bound to scrutinise every single word of each survey, and personally track down and interrogate each one of the people who contributed to them to verify the accuracy of their contributions, before you say another word on the matter.

And I think you should do the same: track down and interrogate . . . oh wait!

[Tarquin Thunderthighs lll]

I'd sooner track you down and risk a prison diet...