William Sitwell The editor of Waitrose Food magazine William Sitwell is resigning over comments he made about a 'killing vegans&...
The editor of Waitrose Food magazine William Sitwell is resigning over comments he made about a 'killing vegans' feature.
Food and travel writer Selene Nelson, who has been vegan for just over a year, emailed Sitwell asking if it would be possible for her to write a regular series for the supermarket's publication on vegan cooking.
In response he instead suggested she start a series on "killing vegans, one by one".
His response has been branded "hostile" by many social media users, after Nelson posted a screenshot on Twitter.
The email reads: "Hi Selene. Thanks for this.
"How about a series on killing vegans, one by one. Ways to trap them? How to interrogate them properly?
"Expose their hypocrisy? Force-feed them meat? Make them eat steak and drink red wine?"
A statement on the Waitrose website said: "We have been informed by John Brown Media, who produce the Waitrose & Partners Food Magazine, that William Sitwell is stepping down as Editor of Waitrose & Partners Food magazine with immediate effect.
"In the light of William's recent email remarks, we've told John Brown Media that we believe this is the right and proper move - we will be working with them to appoint a new editor for the magazine.
"We have had a relationship with William for almost 20 years and are grateful for his contribution to our business over that time."
Nelson, who has previously written for HuffPost and Town & Country told Buzzfeed News she was shocked by Sitwell's attitude towards vegans.
She said: "I've never seen anything like it. I've written about many divisive topics, like capital punishment and murder cases and domestic violence, and I've never had a response like that to any of my articles or pitches.
"And he's the editor. He’s representing Waitrose and he’s talking about 'killing vegans, one by one'?"
She added: "I wasn’t telling him to go vegan, or not eat meat, or that it’s bad to — I was just suggesting including some more plant-based recipes in the magazine."
When the email came to light, Sitwell issued a statement which read: "I love and respect people of all appetites be they vegan, vegetarian or meat eaters, which I show week in week out through my writing, editing and broadcasting.
"I apologise profusely to anyone who has been offended or upset by this."
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