I am blessed to come from a gastronomical paradise called Naxos, a garden of Eden in the centre of the Aegean where fresh local produce is king. There are so many places like this all around Greece. This is not just food. It is culture. A happiness blueprint and reminder that life, however simple or tough, can be good and enjoyable. A taste of hard work, community and continuity.

Therefore, it is not only as a reasonable person, but also as a Greek, that I look at the rising fashion for veganism and “dairy-free” living in Europe and America with bewilderment.

Come on. These are not neutral, nor natural lifestyle preferences. They are an assault on the biological, historical and cultural foundations of Western civilization itself, while at the same time they attack the practical livelihoods of the people who still produce the food that built it.

Let us get something straight. Meat and dairy are not optional extras. They are core Western values. We abandon them at our peril. Humans did not become the dominant species on this planet by grazing.

Our ancestors — hunter-gatherers across the Eurasian landscapes that later built Greece, Rome, and the rest of Europe — hunted. They cracked marrow bones, ate organs, fat and flesh. The dense calories, complete proteins, iron, B12 and long-chain fatty acids from animal foods helped fuel........

© The Daily Caller