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Making vegetarian fat balls?

katie
27/01/2011 23:50

I want to make some fat balls to feed the birds with a group of children of whom at least one is Hindu, I believe some may be Muslim and one or two others are vegetarian.

While being vegetarian does not necessarily prevent you from handling meat or giving it to animals, I'd rather not argue the toss with small children who may be a bit wary of what their parents will say; in any case Hindus believe cows should not be killed (so I could not use beef suet) and Muslims would have a serious problem handling pig meat (so I could not use lard).

Can I use the type of vegetable fat that is for making pastry e.g. Trex, Cookeen? I believe it is the saturated fat that birds need, and these are about 50% saturated fat.

 

Thanks!

  • 0 28/01/2011 05:41 in reply to katie

    In this situation I think Katie is taking the right route, yes, it is unfortunate that we're having to bow to the PC brigade, however Katie is remaining mindful of the potential pitfalls while still trying to teach the children about the importance of supporting nature... I think it is a very good compromise and gets the thumbs up from me :)

  • 0 28/01/2011 06:09 in reply to Guy

    Hello and welcome Katie

    Very interesting post, I really enjoyed reading everyone's contribution. 

    I do not eat meat myself but do give my birds fatballs from the RSPB or bought locally.

    I think you have done exactly the right thing and I may try the recipe myself sometime....for the birds I mean! 

    I don't think being vegetarian can be described as being PC but that is only my personal opinion of course. I have found that another person's beliefs are only described as PC when one disagrees with them. If it is something we believe and hold dear ourself then it is obviously correct and should be respected without question. LOL.  No offence meant here, just thinking aloud.

    Anyway, good luck with the recipe, let us know how you get on.

    Kind regards Jane.

     

     

  • 0 28/01/2011 16:32

    I think you are right to stick with the vegetarian option Katie.  I am sure you have thought of this, but you could explain to the children that different ingredients can be used to make the fat balls - birds need a variety of foods just like us etc etc.  Perhaps, if you had time, you could print out some 'recepies' with different options that could be added, if the children want to make them at home.

    Have fun!

  • 0 28/01/2011 18:12

    Hi Katie

    Jacobi Jayne make some suet cakes with vegetable fat. They sell online or in garden centres.

    You might find 'shortening fat' a problem in warm weather but it may stay hard enough in Winter.

    I suppose if the birds eat it then you will have solved your problem

  • 0 16/04/2020 14:03
    I think you’d struggle to find a veggie or vegan that believes wild animals shouldn’t be eating other animals if they’re omnivores or carnivores. The point is that since these birds are omnivores, and that they don’t NEED us to give them animal fat, they only need saturated fat, which we can provide to them using plants, that it’s unnecessary to kill additional animals for the sake of another. I’m only going to be providing vegan food for the birds in my garden, but I’m not going to do anything to prevent the birds from eating the insects in my garden either. As previously mentioned, it’s not natural for these animals to be eating cows and pigs, so to argue over whether it’s natural for them to eat vegetable fats is irrelevant. The only thing that matters is whether or not it’s healhty, and so long as you’re not feeding them mono-unsaturated fats and hydrogenated fats it’s perfectly healhty. At the end of the day, disease is natural, but I think we can all agree it would be unethical to allow an animal to suffer just because it’s a natural process, I mean if the public didn’t believe that then vets and doctors would be out of business! Natural does not equal ethicalBlush

    Also I’d just like to say I have so much respect for you for considering everybody’s beliefs and options and respecting them. There’s a lot of people who don’t care and think that just because they’re okay with it that means everybody else has to be too, you’re clearly a very thoughtful person!
  • 0 26/01/2021 23:33 in reply to Lloyd
    Hi Katie. Thanks for this question. I am a vegetarian hindu parent and looking for a vegetarian recipe because I don't want to handle meat products or residues (on hands, clothes). Nor do I want to buy a product that supports an industry that exploits animals for human consumption and human profit. (I don't mind leaving birds live worms or snails for them to hunt).

    Deeply grateful to understanding teachers like you who can focus objectively on the task of learning, with kindness and open-mindedness, and without implicitly seeking to "teach" our children that their home beliefs are wrong or backward. Thank you.
  • 0 27/01/2021 00:33

    www.rspb.org.uk/.../

    This is what the RSPB recommend what to feed and not to feed garden birds. It’s all on the RSPB website.

  • 0 27/01/2021 14:58

    It is surprising that the rspb page mentions only suet and lard as they are both higher in mono- and poly-unsaturated fats, as compared to coconut oil or vegetable suet which are higher in saturated fats that the birds need.

    In essence, any appropriate fat and seed can be mixed, roughly one part fat to two part seeds.

    www.saga.co.uk/.../how-to-make-a-fat-ball-to-feed-garden-birds

  • 0 27/01/2021 18:35 in reply to Rachna
    birdfeederexpert.com/.../
    More detail. I am a vegetarian myself. But don’t use vegetarian oil or fat for wild garden birds.
  • 0 27/01/2021 19:05 in reply to THOMO

    Lots of birds will eat all sorts of bread. But you’ve got to be very careful with bread. There are all sorts of food and liquid that wild bird and wild animals that aren’t good for them, but they will eat and drink items that aren’t good for them. Take Hedgehogs for example, Hedgehogs will drink milk,. But milk is not recommended or good for Hedgehogs. Recommended for Hedgehogs is water!