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| Proof veggies and meat-eaters can be friends! |
I became a vegetarian when I was 13-years-old, after lobbying my parents for years to be allowed to do so. I've always been a massive animal lover and I think I was inclined towards vegetarianism long before I was fully aware of the health and environmental benefits. I'd never been a big fan of meat and was primarily concerned with animal welfare. Plus as a child and teenager I wasn't able to make any decisions on where my meat came from.
These days I do have to power to make my own decisions as a consumer, but meat will never be back on the menu for me. The idea of it turns my stomach and quite frankly I can't understand the appeal at all. Meat eating friends tell me it tastes fantastic - but so does my own diet so I don't feel I'm missing out.
And of course now I'm aware of the health and environmental benefits too. I believe that a meat-free diet lowers the risk of certain illnesses like some cancers and heart disease. I also believe that the processes involved in the production of vegetables and grains are much less taxing for the planet than rearing animals - in terms of the use of energy, water, land and other resources, and the creation of waste. Put very very simply, it's better to grow a field of grain to feed humans than to grow a field of grain to feed animals that are then used to feed humans.
However, while I think that in the long term a vegetarian society would be better for the planet, animals and human health, in the short term it would completely destabilise agriculture in the UK, potentially resulting in job losses, damage to the countryside and huge animal welfare issues.
Instead I think a good starting point would be simply to get people to evaluate the meat that they eat. If more people could embrace some meat-free meals and cut their meat intake it would benefit their health and the environment, and they would then be able to afford to make more ethical choices, spending a bit more money on the meat they buy, supporting farm shops and butchers, free-range and organic producers, which in turn would have a really positive impact on animal welfare and the lives of farmers.
I'm well aware that this stance might be viewed as too moderate by some die-hard vegetarians. But sometimes the way to make small, positive changes is to try to see more than one point of view, rather than jumping onto your soap box which tends to make a lot of people just tune out. Giving people ammunition to pigeonhole you as a "crazy veggie" just gives them an excuse not to listen.
In my household, my partner eats meat. But he doesn't eat a lot of it and he cooks wonderful vegetarian food that we both enjoy. I don't question his right to enjoy a steak when he chooses, and in return this puts me in a stronger position to ensure that the meat that comes into our house is of the more ethical variety. Even before we started this challenge we never bought the supermarkets' cheapest meat - we always went paid a bit more for organic, free-range and British.
We're a long way away from a perfect world, but in the meantime I feel the best way forward is to support the farmers, shops and suppliers who are putting animal welfare and health at the heart of what they do, while at the same time advocating a shift towards a more omnivorous diet where meat doesn't have to factor into every meal by showcasing some of the wonderful vegetarian choices available.
And to bring this back to the topic of this blog, which is of course avoiding supermarkets, I feel that local shops and butchers to a much better job of telling customers where their meat comes from - and where their fruit and veg is sourced, for that matter - which helps shoppers make much more informed decisions about what they're chosing to spend their money on and put into their bodies.
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