READERS might be interested to know it’s really easy to make your own tasty vegan/vegetarian haggis. There are lots of recipes on the internet. I used the “Pesky vegan” one, which I’d recommend.

The reason I made my own haggis is that the two main shop-bought brands have palm oil in them. They claim it’s “responsibly sourced” but Greenpeace quote research saying there’s no such thing at present, and using palm oil is contributing to the rainforest being burnt and cleared for oil plantations, and that it’s the second biggest cause of deforestation after cattle ranching.

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One of our main vegetarian haggis makers have claimed on their website they are seeking a substitute for palm oil in their product. I wrote to them asking how that’s going-no reply.

Rabbie Burns got it. In Tae a Moose he wrote: “I’m truly sorry Man’s dominion/Has broken Nature’s social union.”

Try doing your wee bit to mend that social union, make your own haggis that lets the rainforest live.

And when you raise a glass to the bard, raise one to Volodymyr Zelensky too – they share the same birthday!

Malcolm Bruce
Edinburgh