BBC international news,

for the past several days, in the morning, afternoon and evening bulletins, has prominently featured. among reports of more US deaths in Iraq, more bloody fighting in Gaza and Lebanon, even EU-Russia summits, one news item.

It is the fact that, in the face of strong protests, the makers of Mars Bars have dropped the ingredient of animal derived enzyme rennet from their product. This outraged Britain’s vegetarians when the inclusion of the material was made known. A Mars bar, incidentally, is a product largely comprised of sugar and empty calories, a chocolate covered toffee confection more usually known as a Bar One in this part of the world.

The prominence of this item puzzles me. Is the Mars Bar the snack of choice of BBC journos? Are many of them vegetarian? What about the milk in the milk chocolate anyway? Isn’t that an animal product? If you don’t like them, don’t eat them.

As for me, I’d rather continue with a boycott of the product, and not jeopardise my already dodgy dental bridgework, or promote a bulging waistline, premature diabetes or hyperglycemia. An apple a day sounds a much better proposition.