Some meat-eaters won’t like what I’m saying here and some vegetarians won’t either. But I often get asked about my diet and I felt I needed to write this so (if only so I don’t have to keep repeatedly explaining my eating choices on social media).
Before you read on I’d like to ask you to please respect the fact these are my personal opinions and choices. I have never once tried to persuade a single person to give up meat and neither am I here suggesting that anyone else should start eating it. I’m simply airing a few thoughts which may help other people get clearer on their own food choices.
I’ve been thinking about writing this post for a long time but have shied away from talking about this because there’s a good chance I’ll get some stick for what I’m going to say here, both from vegetarians and meat-eaters. But when I get an idea to write something and, despite fear of criticism I just can’t shake it off I know that it’s something I need to write.
I was about 20 or maybe 21 when I first started eating a lacto-ovo vegetarian diet (no to meat or fish products, but yes to eggs and dairy products), so I’ve been eating this way consistently for at least 16 years.
It hasn’t been any kind of hardship as some meat-eaters seem to assume. I enjoy eating veggie and have never really missed meat.
People are often interested in my thinking when I talk about this, so I’m going to explain my why I chose to exclude animal flesh from my diet.
My reasons were ethical. I do not believe vegetarianism is necessarily the healthiest way to eat and, although it has suited me well, I think it can actually be unhealthy for some people.
This may sound silly to some (and remember, I was only 20/21 at the time) but it began when I got two pet cats and totally fell in love with them. I just couldn’t square the love and caring I was giving to these animals with eating other animals. From there I started to think more about what meat really was and I stopped wanting to eat it.
Most pet-owning meat eaters will say, “it’s different”, to me it wasn’t. It still isn’t really.
I know some people feel OK about eating animals bred for the purposes of eating, but to me that feels worse than eating animals slain ethically in the wild. Most (not all, but most) of the animals people eat are born into pretty miserable lives and I find the idea that we’re doing something good by giving them the chance to live a short life until we decide to cut it short so we can eat them slightly chilling, to be honest.
As for the “it’s natural” argument, to me, not much seems “natural” about the way meat is produced and acquired nowadays. I’m certainly no expert on human evolution, but strongly suspect our ancestors didn’t eat as much meat as in the typical western diet today. Also, as civilised human beings, most of us curb a lot of behaviours which might be considered “natural” from a evolutionary perspective (physical violence, promiscuity, stealing, etc.) for me this has just been another aspect of the moral code that makes me feel like I’m a good person.
Obviously the “you’ll get weak and unhealthy if you don’t eat meat” argument isn’t going to hold much water with me. I’m stronger and healthier than most meat eaters (not all by any means, but compared to the average meat-eating woman I think that’s pretty fair to say). Clearly it is possible to thrive on a vegetarian diet, I’ve experienced this first hand. If I was in a situation where I needed to eat meat for survival, I would. – in the same way I’d eat pretty much anything that would keep me alive in those circumstances, however repellent I might normally find it. I’m fortunate enough to have never been in that situation.
There’s also the fact that large-scale meat production is bad for the planet, but to be honest, although this is obviously an important issue, personally it has never been a main motivating factor for my diet choices.
Again, I really want to stress that those are my personal opinions which have influenced my eating choices. They are not judgements on anyone else’s choices.
You might have sensed a “however” coming…
However, over the last couple of years I’ve been wondering if I need to take such a ridged approach.
This probably really began about four years ago when I got to a point where I’d read so much convincing evidence about the benefits of fish oils that I decided to make an exception and take a fish oil supplement.
There was also a day when a lovely neighbour at my place down on the Dorset coast (I split my time between living there and in London) called over. He’d just got back from successful fishing trip and brought a mackerel over for me, line caught, fresh from a stretch of ocean I could see through my window. I thanked him profusely, of course, but explained that I didn’t eat fish.
Afterwards I felt a bit bad about turning down the gift and then got to thinking about whether I should have just taken it and cooked it up.
I’ve always maintained that it would be virtually impossible to eat a 100% strict veggie diet – there are hidden meat and fish products in so many foods, from cookies to crisps to beer to bread. But I’ve felt that those were more like by-products of the meat-industry and that I do as much as I sensibly can to keep my diet in-line with the thoughts outlined above, without wanting to dedicate my existence to it.
For months I ruminated on the idea that ethically sourced fish could make a healthy addition to my diet and is perhaps no more at odds with my feelings about meat than eggs and dairy products. I don’t want to get into it here, but I’m not at all comfortable with the way most of the milk we consume is sourced.
Then I got to thinking that eating a bit of fish would make it easier to healthy protein rich meals when eating out, especially as I don’t tolerate wheat very well. Sadly veggie menu options are often the most processed and rarely feature a decent amount of protein. It’s shocking how few chefs know how to make a decent balanced meal once meat is off the table.
Eventually I decided to try some Dorset mackerel. After 16 years with no meat or fish I wasn’t sure how my digestion would cope with it, so I just had a small sample. It was nice. Can’t say it knocked my socks off taste-wise, but it was pretty good and my tummy was fine.
So, basically, I’ve started having a bit of fish occasionally. The only fish I can remember eating before going veggie was tinned tuna, chip shop cod and fish fingers (we didn’t get a lot of fresh fish when I was growing up in Stoke-on-Trent!) so this is quite an adventure for me.
Do I feel OK about it? Mostly. I can’t say there isn’t still part of me that is a little torn. But for now at least I intend to continue.
I’m not sure whether I’ll move onto any other animal products. I don’t feel like I need or want to right now, so maybe that’s it. I do intend to carry on eating a mostly vegetarian diet. But I’d like to keep my options open and I feel like I want to shed the Vegetarian label. So, I guess I’m officially a flexitarian now.
So, this is me coming out world – like it or not, I’ve gone flexi!
I normally end my blog posts saying I’d like to get your thoughts and that comments are welcome. But this time I’m going to say that judgemental comments are not welcome. These are my personal choices and neither asking for anyone’s approval for them or suggesting anyone else is doing wrong by not joining me in them. I would, however, love to hear from you if have found this post thought-provoking or had similar experiences yourself.