Fitzmaurice condemns plant-based University catering plan as "next level idiocy"

Michael Fitzmaurice, Independent TD for Roscommon-Galway, has expressed vehement opposition to a petition seeking to implement 100% plant-based catering at the University of Galway, and has called on the third-level institution to consider the broader implications of such a move.

The deputy has invited students and faculty to take part in a more balanced discussion on how to address these issues in a practical and inclusive manner. "The buzzword these days is choice, and I'm all for choice. Freedom of choice, not these 'my way or the highway' bully-boy tactics" he declared.

The petition to create 100% plant-based catering among third-level colleges is being led by the 'Plant-Based Universities' campaign and has been signed by more than 60 Irish academics, including a group from the University of Galway.

"Frankly, this petition is nothing short of madness," said Deputy Fitzmaurice "what planet are we living on that anyone thinks this is a workable or even desirable idea? Universities should be melting pots of diverse and tolerant ideas, not echo chambers of radical, exclusionary policy."

The deputy is critical of the academics involved, stating, "I'm no fan of so-called academics at the best of times, but this petition is next-level idiocy. Universities are not in place to enforce dietary restrictions but to foster learning and diverse thinking."

The Independent deputy also raised concerns concerns over the economic and environmental sense of such a move. "Mass shifts in human behavior, like the one this petition advocates, could have disastrous consequences on both our economy and our ecosystems," he warns. "We don't live in a vacuum, and each action has a knock-on effect."

He compared the move to historical examples of prohibition, stating that such enforced behavior only serves to divide communities. "If an individual chooses to abstain from meat, or fruit, or sweets, so be it. But labeling people who don't as somehow responsible for doing harm to the environment is simply nonsense."

"In all of human history, when the self-righteous few try to enforce their will over others, things have always ended badly. This is only the thin edge of a rather fanatical wedge."