Vegan – Should I?

Since embarking on this processed and sugar free journey I have not only been learning where our food comes from but how it arrives at our tables. It has made me think about my future relationship with meat and whether it’s a necessity or a luxury. Now I realise there will be lots of people out there who believe that meat is a necessity and yes, to some extent I would have to agree with them. However, I have been asking myself if I need it or not.

According to The Vegan Society there are now just over half a million people in the UK who are vegan and it’s growing at a huge rate. The last estimate of 150,000 ten years ago makes veganism one of Britain largest growing lifestyle movements. Although I want to make it clear that I’m not thinking about becoming vegan to be trendy. I’m thinking about it because I have started to discover a lot of truths about the meat industry.

Thousands of years ago when the ice age happened I can understand we would have needed to eat meat to survive. We were once all Vegan when food was plentiful but then the weather changed dramatically. We had to find another way to feed ourselves. Otherwise the human race would have died. If the ice age never happened we would probably not eat meat today. That’s what has left me wondering whether I need meat today or if I’m just being greedy.

Now, I think, the meat industry will claim that we all need to eat meat. I feel this is because they want to sell us a product. So therefore of course they are going to inform you need to eat it. Especially if there are large profits at stake. In recent months though I have learnt that we could live on beans and pulses as these also provide protein. Plus lots of other nutrients that we need to survive. I realise the thought of this may not appeal to everyone and there are people who need meat due to their bodies conditions.

Our bodies are also constantly changing and through the ages we will need to feed ourselves different types of food. My husband, Howard and I are trying for a second baby and in my first pregnancy I ate a lot of eggs. During the time we were trying to conceive I also ate a lot of eggs. I don’t know why, but I feel like eggs are a sign of fertility and I need to eat them to help us to fall pregnant again. I’m no expert so please don’t start buying lots of eggs. It’s just my intuition and it could be wrong.

As a family we have cut back on the amount of meat we are eating. We only have it at weekends and during the week we have vegan or vegetarian meals. All of our meals are cooked from scratch and the meat we eat is from our local organic butchers. My question to myself is should I go that bit further and just cut it from my diet completely. Honestly, I’m not ready to take the plunge yet. Although I would consider it and if we couldn’t eat meat tomorrow for whatever reason I don’t think it would bother me.

For me, I think, many people are becoming more aware of the food they are eating and the way we are living our lives. Thanks to the invention of the internet I think we are all changing our habits. In the future I can see veganism becoming a bigger part of our world as we all begin to learn more about the foods that we are eating. I feel like I’m walking into a new age where we are all becoming more aware of what is happening not only to our immediate surroundings but what is happening across the globe. With more people joining the Vegan movement I do feel it will start to enlighten us and yes, one day I may take the plunge.