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I'm not gonna lie, I never thought I would be writing a post about giving up meat and if anyone knows me they know that I was a huge meat eater of all kinds, so when I told people they all just wanted to remind me of all the great meals I will be missing out on but to be honest I knew it just wasn't going to change my mind. I also want to point out that whilst I no longer eat meat, I do still eat fish and shellfish, for me I knew that I wouldn't be able to give up meat and fish at the same time if I did there was a higher chance of me giving up.
Last year I often thought "oh I would like to give up meat but I just don't think I can" and I kinda left it at that, I didn't really try to reduce my meat intake or anything like that, I just felt like it was a nice idea. Then we got Freddie our adorable little French bulldog and I think this was when I really started to question things. When Freddie was little he reminded me of a piglet, he had this little flat nose, a pot belly, he would grunt and snuffle around the house, he had these ears that just pointed straight up and I couldn't help but see a pig! Then I started thinking, "why is it ok to eat pig meat but I am shocked and disgusted that other countries or cultures eat dog meat?" As time went on, I stopped seeing chickens, cows, pigs, sheep as meat and instead as these lovely little animals like Fred because the reality is there is no difference, so if I can eat pig meat then I should be fine with others eating dog meat - and this just didn't make sense. When January came I knew that this year was the right time to give it up.
When you start picking apart the meat industry there are so many things that I have been uncomfortable with for a long time, the impact it has on the environment, the welfare of the animals, the hormones that are pumped into the meat to bulk it up and make it cheaper to name a few. The supermarkets don't help because getting cheap meat is very convenient, local butchers are few and far between and if I could shop at a butchers who could tell me more about the meat I was eating then I would have a different opinion but that's just not realistic anymore. Additionally, I think now more than ever is easy to eliminate meat from your diet, there are so many "fake meat" alternatives and I know those are also processed but if you wanted to avoid those types of replacements you could because veganism and vegetarianism is becoming more popular. Personally, I do eat some of the meat alternatives like Linda McCartney sausages with my Sunday dinner, or the No Chick pieces for a stir fry (if I'm not having prawns) sometimes it's nice to bulk it but with the meat replacements.
The thing that surprised me the most was how easy it has been so far, even when I am drunk and offered meat I am still like "no, meat free". It just seems and feels like the right thing to do which is why it has been so easy and because I do still have fish it's definitely been a softer transition. Another reason I still eat fish is because there are more options to available on a menu when eating out with friends, if I don't like the look of the veggie options then I am guaranteed the fish option will appeal to me. There are times I have thought about meat, thinking I would quite like to have a burger or something but I just know I won't get one because there are some fab meat free alternatives around that taste just as good as anything else!
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