Mark Bittman, inspirational DIY food writer and noted non-vegan, issued a rare apology on his New York Times blog this week for referring to recently deceased Chick-Fil-A spokesman Don Perry as a “pig” in what has become the latest salvo in an unfortunate war of words over a perennial hot topic: same-sex marriage.

We won’t go into detail regarding a story that has by now inspired thousands of nasty Facebook exchanges and exhausted many a pundit, but Bittman admitted to letting his emotions get the best of him in using a word that “did not rise to either my own standards or to The Times’s.” This sordid tale of clashing culture warriors has certainly brought out the less civilized sides of many in media and politics, and we can only hope that all involved will learn from the experience…oh, who are we kidding? It’s a big, unfortunate mess.