A British film director has slammed British Airways for serving her a ‘pathetic’ vegan meal.

Carolyn Saunders, famed for her award-winning 2017 movie The Wasting, was flying from Vancouver to London when she was served chunks of plain tofu with rice and baby sweetcorn.

Recounting her horror on Twitter, she tweeted: “British Airways this is the sad vegetarian meal you saw fit to give me on a long YVR-LHR flight.

“Would you eat this? Would anyone? Plain tofu with plain rice and a baby corn cob from a tin?

“Why do you think vegetarians don’t like food? Please do better.”

@British_Airways This is the sad vegetarian meal you saw fit to give me on a long YVR-LHR flight. Would you eat this? Would anyone? Plain tofu with plain rice and a baby corn cob from a tin? Why do you think vegetarians don't like food? Pls do better. #airplanefood #frequentflyer pic.twitter.com/oWrLkoDZxb

— Carolyn Saunders (@EndzoneFilms) October 13, 2019

“The flight attendant saved me by finding me another meal, but this was truly pathetic and happens to vegetarians so often.

“Please tell your caterers we are not rabbits. We like good hearty meals! And we like proper pudding, not just melon,” she added.

Carolyn admitted it wasn’t the first time she had been served poor veggie food: “This problem isn’t restricted to BA. I’ve experienced it on every airline I’ve flown on.

“I’m sick and tired of being treated like a rabbit with no appetite. What’s wrong with a good veg lasagne or a big bowl of veg chilli with beans and lentils or a nut loaf? Those are meals.

“A piece of plain tofu is not a meal, it’s a slap in the face,” she ranted.

Vegan travel

Vegans are all too familiar with poor quality in-flight meals.

FlyVe, a site set up by The Vegan Society in collaboration with Humane Society International, provides an open forum for vegans to share reviews of their meals.

Charlie Huson, Forward Food Campaign Manager at Humane Society International, said: “There are compelling animal welfare, environmental and human health benefits from eating plant-based foods, so it’s something that everyone – not just vegans – should be enabled to do.

“Unfortunately, many airlines are still offering the choice of ‘chicken or beef’, and in doing so failing to serve their fast-growing number of vegan customers and missing the opportunity to make animal and planet-friendly vegan options a choice accessible to everyone.”

BA response

Acknowledging her complaint, a customer service representative from British Airways’ social media team replied: “Oh, dear. That is a little sad, isn’t it, Carolyn? Had you requested a vegan meal or a vegetarian one?

“If you let me know the date you flew, I’ll make sure this is fed back to our Catering team (no pun intended).”

A spokesperson for British Airways told Sun Online Travel: “We pride ourselves on the quality of the meals we offer on board, and have heavily invested in our catering, in all cabins.

“Customers can pre-order from 14 special meals, including vegetarian, vegan, gluten free, kosher, low calorie, and low salt options.

“We are in touch with our customer and are investigating with our supplier.”

• Read: Vegans share pictures of their most disappointing in-flight meals

What’s the worst in-flight meal you’ve ever had? Share your experiences in the comments section below!

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