What, No Meat?!

by Phoebe Warren

 

 
As Christmas approaches, I am questioned as to how I can survive the festive season as the turkey and pigs in blankets are passed around the table. How could I possibly resist the juicy, succulent smells seeping out of the kitchen?

Yet what others fail to see is the opposing side to the argument. From my perspective, I wonder how can they sit there with contentment, as a slaughtered animal, not dissimilar to their beloved pet dog, lies on the dining table for all to feast upon? And, to add to that rather disturbing thought, the act of eating this piece of meat causes millions of others to perish of starvation due to illogical land use for animal farming. Eating that piece of meat also adds massively to the green house effect and thus destruction of our earth. So, in the light of this information, eating meat doesn’t really seem that logical to me.  

A diet with the absence of meat means a greener way of life; raising animals for meat produced a disturbing 18% of global greenhouse gas emissions in 2006. Moreover, in the UK alone, more than 2.5 million innocent animals are slaughtered every day for meat. In contrast, people who do not eat meat have a lower risk of dying from heart disease, heart attacks and stroke, according to recent research. They are also more likely to live longer, alleviate world hunger and have a lower chance of having type 2 diabetes.

With so many benefits of vegetarianism, it is no wonder there is an ever growing list of converts, including Sir Paul McCartney, Brad Pitt, Mike Tyson, Ben Stiller, Anne Hathaway and Russell Brand just to name a few.

However, the media doesn’t always frame vegetarianism in a positive light, and often speaks of it in hyperbolic terms, so it is easy to see why some may be rather hostile to the impracticalities this lifestyle choice may cause.

Only 2% of Britons are “vegetarians”, yet there are numerous sub-strands, some of which even I admit to find hard to come to terms with when they are put in more comical situations. For example, you may recall the scene in Notting Hill where William Thacker (Hugh Grant) decides to go on a blind date with a rather kooky "fruitarian". The girl is offered a meat-filled dish, which she rejects explaining her requirements as a Fruitarian. This is a genuine dietary choice, consisting of fruit, nuts, seeds and other plant material that can be gathered without killing the plant. For example, apples fall off trees naturally, so can be collected off the ground, yet carrots have to be physically pulled out the ground, which fruitarians believe hurts the carrots' feelings. 

 

Despite not taking my dietary requirements to such lengthy extremes like the girl in Notting Hill, I will still be enjoying a meat-free Christmas this year.



My choice of being a pescatarian is simply based on the fact I don’t like meat; although, after 10 years of not eating meat, I feel I can also obtain the moral high ground on the vegetarian versus meat-eating lifestyle! I feel that a vegetarian diet is far more diverse in texture and taste. There are so many delicious alternatives, and a whole world of grains, nuts and pulses you may have never considered. 

And no, I never crave a fry-up or gaze at a Big Mac with jealousy, or even feel left out at Christmas dinner; to be honest I find these meals dull and uninspiring more than anything, hence my choice of a meat-free diet.