If you want proof that the world is getting better all the time, look no further than the Greggs vegan sausage roll. I did not queue up early this morning to get one. I can’t comment on the taste, the texture, or the quality. I haven’t tried it, and I’m not sure I plan to. I’m also not a vegan, so even if I did a taste-test, I couldn’t give you an assessment of how it compares to other vegan products, especially in the ‘ready-made’ category. No, my robust defence of Greggs’ latest invention is not about the quality of the pasty roll itself, but rather what new products like this show about the times we live in.
A century ago, certain meats like chicken were thought to be a luxury. Thanks to innovators and market advocates like Sir Antony Fisher – the founder of the Institute of Economic Affairs, who brought factory chicken farming to Britain in the early 1950s – costs eventually plummeted and chicken became significantly more accessible.
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