Green Man wears a white poppy

About 36 million of these are sold by the British Legion, raising over £70 million which goes to British ex-servicemen and their families, many of whom have only small military pensions which don't adequately cover their medical and social needs.

However I wear a white poppy. I cannot condone sentiments such as 'our glorious dead' 'sacrificing' their lives. The white poppy is a statement that war cannot create peace, and the small amount of profit made from the 45,000 sold goes into peace education, such as the Peace Research and Education Trust.

The poppy debate has stirred up some strong feelings. Jon Snow, a Channel 4 newsreader, has called the expected wearing of red poppies on air 'poppy fascism' and states his opposition to newsreaders wearing any symbols, be they poppies, crosses or ribbons of any colour.

Jonathan Bartley of the religious think-tank Ekklesia says that the wearing of red poppies is political correctness and that wearing a white poppy is 'more Christian'. When a white poppy wreath was being laid at the Cenotaph once, an old soldier shouted obscenities, and people have been verbally abused and even lost their jobs for wearing a white poppy.

The white poppy has a long history. The Women's Cooperative Guild, which was started in 1883, wanted a way of expressing their opposition to war, and they asked the British Legion to produce a white poppy alongside their red poppies which they started selling in 1921. They refused, and refused to consider putting an anti-war message in the centre of the red poppy.

They refused to accept the proceeds of the white poppy sales too. In 1936 the Peace Pledge Union took up the white poppy production and sales and it has been produced every year, not in opposition to the red one, and some people wear both. The British Legion have been asked several times if they would take over the white poppy and any proceeds, but they say that the red one is 'a symbol of the need to reflect on the human cost of war' and that it is internationally known and that a white poppy just confuses the issue.

I'm glad that the existence of the white poppy gives rise to debate about peace and conflict issues, although not if it causes any conflict! The Peace Pledge Union has a good website with some valuable educational material which is available for schools projects. Anything we can do to encourage the next generation to solve conflicts through non-violent means must be a good thing... those of us opposed to the war on Iraq will have views on the evils of armed conflict, invasion, friendly fire and the unnecessary deaths of civilians.

My ethical suggestion of the week is to either order some white poppies from the Peace Pledge Union website, or get one from your nearest Friends Meeting House (Quakers) who often have some available. Wear a white one alongside a red one if you want, you'll find it generates some interest and that if you explain what it signifies, many people are very positive about it.