A Spiritual Food Fight: How Cancel Culture Weaponizes Food To Bully The Faithful

Published

2 years ago

January 29, 2023

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The battle between good and evil can be likened to a messy food fight.

God originally created food to foster health, unity, comfort, and goodness. But in the hands of the enemy, it creates the perfect opportunity for Cancel Culture to attack the dinner table and the people around it.

During the riots of 2020, Chick-fil-A was hit with a wave of protests, even though its employees kindly serve everyone with a my pleasure. The owner, Dan Cathy, a Christian, didnt want to provide financial aid to LGBTQ organizations. His company provided millions of dollars to support the homeless, poor, and hungry. But thats not enough for Cancel Culture.

These social justice warriors, who supposedly respect diverse experiences and defend freedom of expression, did everything possible to destroy Jack Phillips, a cake decorator in Colorado. A gay couple sued Phillips for not decorating a wedding cake to celebrate their marriage because it went contrary to his Christian understanding of marriage. That gay couple went to great lengths to destroy this mans livelihood. It took the Supreme Court to finally decide in favor of this mans conscience and the freedom of religious expression. This group wants to force a Christian to make a cake for a same-sex wedding, but would never ask a vegan to serve a burger.

Proponents of Cancel Culture want to be recognized as agents of high morality and principle, but they are hypocrites. They make demands like spoiled children. But they have more than tears and tantrums; they have powerful politicians, popular celebrities, access to 24 hours of op-ed media posing as news stations, and billions of dollars from powerful industries to cut down anyone who disagrees with them.

The deeper reality is that militant vegans want to impose a moral culinary cult on everyone. They believe eating meat is cruel to animals. According to them, veganism will save the planet even though the planet existed just fine for millions of years without them.

As a chef, I enjoy eating vegetables, but I am always confused as to why vegans try to mimic the taste of meat. Ethical treatment of animals is a good thing. But at the end of the day, ethical treatment only helps to make a more quality product for slaughtering. Natural food is under attack, and so is the physical and mental health of humanity.

Hypocrisy abounds in Cancel Culture. Its agents vow to be inclusive and all-embracing, but they create havoc to shut down restaurants with Christian owners and bully customers at these establishments because they vote differently. And worst of all, they want to save creation but would gladly kill an unborn child. For them, another mouth to feed would be harmful to women. Yet they cannot actually define a woman.

I wish that these examples were far and few between, but Cancel Culture has hit close to home.

A few breweries in Baltimore have decided to bar my food truck from serving food to their patrons. The truck is not woke enough for them because they determined that as a chef and priest, I would impose my theological and moral views on their customers. They want to cancel the truck even though we provide jobs for the formerly incarcerated and disadvantaged communities, while also providing food for the poor.

Cancel Culture wants to control who eats what and when. They believe they have the moral authority to determine if someone goes hungry or feasts like a king. Thankfully, opponents of Cancel Culture are prepared. They can take comfort in the words of St. Teresa of Avila, who said, When its time to fast its time to fast. But, when its time to feast, its time to feast! In time, the just will receive their reward at the heavenly banquet.

Despite this dismal dietary outlook on what were force-fed by Cancel Culture, we have a recipe for hope. The devil used food to destroy us, but Jesus becomes food to save us! We just have to hunger for God and the right things to put into our bodies, minds, and souls. Thats why God became food!

We will never have the complete victory in this earthly food fight, simply because we have to hunger for the Eternal Banquet in heaven. But, to help us serve and digest the good, beautiful, and true aspects of life, I recommend a few simple ingredients: Eat with your family, regularly. The benefits are scientifically proven. This shared act makes us companions a word that describes sharing bread with others. Serve those who go without, and consider eating with them. Charity and missionary work makes us value every morsel as a gift from God and recognize that life is a gift. Celebrate the saints and other feast days with gusto! Go ahead, drink a beer on Saint Pattys Day, but also say a prayer to cast out the serpentine lies from our lives. Eat a bacon-wrapped lamb chop on Easter, but make sure youve fasted and confessed during Lent. Feast (and fasting) days are the remedy to the monotony of life, which the devil wants to make tasteless and boring. Be sure to discern what youre putting into your bodies with healthy moderation, but also consider how a healthy mind can make you spiritual sommeliers. Be experts of what youre consuming because you are what you eat! Physically and spiritually. Finally, pray before you eat. Live a life of gratitude and consider how every bite is a connection to Gods creation and the people who had a part in feeding you. Being grateful makes us conscious of the Divine, Who can turn leftovers into a feast for the soul.

Cancel Cultures weaponization of food to divide and destroy will eventually backfire, because its members will eventually cancel themselves. Thankfully, real food lovers will be on hand to nurse them back to sanity and health, one meal at a time just like Jesus did.

Bon appetit and win the war.

Father Leo Patalinghug is an award-winning chef and author, a widely acclaimed speaker, the founder of the international food and faith movement Plating Grace, and the host of Savoring Our Faith on EWTN. A priest of the Voluntas Dei community, he lives in Baltimore. His new book, coauthored with Michael P. Foley, Dining with the Saints: The Sinners Guide to a Righteous Feast publishes February 28, 2023, from Regnery History.

The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

UK

Starmer survives rebellion as watered-down welfare cuts pass key vote

Published

3 hours ago

July 2, 2025

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Starmer survives rebellion as watered-down welfare cuts pass key vote

Sir Keir Starmer’s controversial welfare bill has passed its first hurdle in the Commons despite a sizeable rebellion from his MPs.

The prime minister’s watered-down Universal Credit and Personal Independent Payment Bill, aimed at saving £5.5bn, was backed by a majority of 75 on Tuesday evening.

A total of 49 Labour MPs voted against the bill – the largest rebellion since 47 MPs voted against Tony Blair’s Lone Parent benefit in 1997, according to Professor Phil Cowley from Queen Mary University.

Politics latest: Chancellor left in ‘impossible situation’ after PM survives welfare rebellion

After multiple concessions made due to threats of a Labour rebellion, many MPs questioned what they were voting for as the bill had been severely stripped down.

They ended up voting for only one part of the plan: a cut to Universal Credit (UC) sickness benefits for new claimants from £97 a week to £50 from 2026/7.

The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) said the bill voted through “is not expected to deliver any savings over the next four years” because the savings from reducing the Universal Credit health element for new claimants will be roughly offset by the cost of increasing the UC standard allowance.

Just 90 minutes before voting started on Tuesday evening, disabilities minister Stephen Timms announced the last of a series of concessions made as dozens of Labour MPs spoke of their fears for disabled and sick people if the bill was made law.

How did your MP vote on Labour’s welfare bill?

In a major U-turn, he said changes in eligibility for the personal independence payment (PIP), the main disability payment to help pay for extra costs incurred, would not take place until a review he is carrying out into the benefit is published in autumn 2026.

An amendment brought by Labour MP Rachael Maskell, which aimed to prevent the bill progressing to the next stage, was defeated but 44 Labour MPs voted for it.

A Number 10 source told Sky News’ political editor Beth Rigby: “Change isn’t easy, we’ve always known that, we’re determined to deliver on the mandate the country gave us, to make Britain work for hardworking people.

“We accept the will of the house, and want to take colleagues with us, our destination – a social security system that supports the most vulnerable, and enables people to thrive – remains.”

But the Conservative shadow chancellor Mel Stride called the vote “farcical” and said the government “ended up in this terrible situation” because they “rushed it”.

He warned the markets “will have noticed that when it comes to taking tougher decisions about controlling and spending, this government has been found wanting”.

Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall said: “I wish we’d got to this point in a different way. And there are absolutely lessons to learn.

“But I think it’s really important we pass this bill at the second reading, it put some really important reforms to the welfare system – tackling work disincentives, making sure that people with severe conditions would no longer be assessed and alongside our investment in employment support this will help people get back to work, because that’s the brighter future for them.”

She made further concessions on Monday in the hope the rebels’ fears would be allayed, but many were concerned the PIP eligibility was going to be changed at the same time the review was published, meaning its findings would not be taken into account.

Her changes were:

• Current PIP claimants, and any up to November 2026, would have the same eligibility criteria as they do now, instead of the stricter measure proposed

• A consultation into PIP to be “co-produced” with disabled people and published in autumn 2026

• For existing and future Universal Credit (UC) claimants, the combined value of the standard UC allowance and the health top-up will rise “at least in line with inflation” every year for the rest of this parliament

• The UC health top-up, for people with limited ability to work due to a disability or long-term sickness, will get a £300m boost next year – doubling the current amount – then rising to £800m the year after and £1bn in 2028/29.

World

Women’s Euros: Extreme heat warnings in place as tournament kicks off

Published

4 hours ago

July 1, 2025

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Women's Euros: Extreme heat warnings in place as tournament kicks off

The Women’s Euros begin in Switzerland today – with extreme heat warnings in place.

Security measures have had to be relaxed by UEFA for the opening matches so fans can bring in water bottles.

Temperatures could be about 30C (86F) when the Swiss hosts open their campaign against Norway in Basel this evening.

Players have already seen the impact of heatwaves this summer at the men’s Club World Cup in the US.

It is raising new concerns in the global players’ union about whether the stars of the sport are being protected in hot and humid conditions.

FIFPRO has asked FIFA to allow cooling breaks every 15 minutes rather than just in the 30th minute of each half.

There’s also a request for half-time to be extended from 15 to 20 minutes to help lower the core temperature of players.

FIFPRO’s medical director, Dr Vincent Gouttebarge, said: “There are some very challenging weather conditions that we anticipated a couple of weeks ago already, that was already communicated to FIFA.

“And I think the past few weeks were confirmation of all worries that the heat conditions will play a negative role for the performance and the health of the players.”

Football has seemed focused on players and fans baking in the Middle East – but scorching summers in Europe and the US are becoming increasingly problematic for sport.

While climate change is a factor, the issue is not new and at the 1994 World Cup, players were steaming as temperatures rose in the US.

There is now more awareness of the need for mitigation measures among players and their international union.

FIFPRO feels football officials weren’t responsive when it asked for kick-off times to be moved from the fierce afternoon heat in the US for the first 32-team Club World Cup.

FIFA has to balance the needs of fans and broadcasters with welfare, with no desire to load all the matches in the same evening time slots.

Electric storms have also seen six games stopped, including a two-hour pause during a Chelsea game at the weekend.

This is the dress rehearsal for the World Cup next summer, which is mostly in the US.

The use of more indoor, air conditioned stadiums should help.

There is no prospect of moving the World Cup to winter, as Qatar had to do in 2022.

And looking further ahead to this time in 2030, there will be World Cup matches in Spain, Portugal and Morocco. The temperatures this week have been hitting 40C (104F) in some host cities.

FIFA said in a statement to Sky News: “Heat conditions are a serious topic that affect football globally.

“At the FCWC some significant and progressive measures are being taken to protect the players from the heat. For instance, cooling breaks were implemented in 31 out of 54 matches so far.

“Discussions on how to deal with heat conditions need to take place collectively and FIFA stands ready to facilitate this dialogue, including through the Task Force on Player Welfare, and to receive constructive input from all stakeholders on how to further enhance heat management.

“In all of this, the protection of players must be at the centre.”