Meat

It feels like there’s more pressure to be a vegetarian in 2018 than ever before. I try to live ethically and do as much as I can to protect the environment and make the world better. The next logical step is to become a vegetarian but it’s not something I’m going to do.

In principle I am against killing things. There has been talk on bringing back the fox hunting ban recently and grouse shooting still happens every year. How can killing an animals ever be fun? It’s not sport unless the animal you are trying to kill has an equal chance of killing you. Ruthless murder is not a hobby.

Sometimes it’s argued that foxes are pests, as are many other animals. The usual answer is to kill them (it’s still perfectly legal to shoot foxes). I have some sympathy here but culling should be a last resort if an animal is genuinely having an adverse effect. It’s society’s fault that animals are causing us problems, not the animals. Deterrent and relocation has got to be a better method than killing.

Though fur farming is illegal in the UK it’s still something which goes on across the world. There’s some debate into issues with faux fur using plastics but there’s no way wearing fur is right in the modern world. Killing an animal because you want a nice coat is not OK.

But then we get to meat. Part of me agrees with the argument that animals shouldn’t be raised just to be turned into meat. There are debates about it but generally humans are considered to be omnivores and meat is part of our diet. It’s not something I’m comfortable with but something I accept.

There’s overwhelming evidence that farmed animals contribute to greenhouse gases and therefore climate change. This is obviously not good. When I have looked into vegetarian options in the past I have found it difficult. If you live in a city then you can easily find meat substitutes but here in a small town it’s not so easy. It’s likely my carbon footprint would be larger travelling to get meat free substitutes than eating meat. I also can’t help but think farmed animals are a drop in the ocean compared to the vast amounts of fossil fuels that are used.

For me it’s all about doing things as ethically as possible. I try to make sure meat I buy comes from the UK which means it has less food miles, isn’t destroying a forest somewhere and follows tighter regulations than other places. There’s absolutely no reason why animals being raised for the meat industry can’t have a perfectly happy and comfortable life. It doesn’t always happen but as a consumer I do my best to only buy products that can claim that. The same goes for other food products like eggs and milk. Both can be produced by animals that are treated really well, and should be.

There are things to look out for when shopping. You’ll usually see a clear union flag on meat from the UK and many products have some sort of description about where the food came from. Initiatives like the RSPCA Assured can tell you very quickly that the animals were well treated. You should ignore farm names on supermarket foods which are usually fake and the word ‘organic’ just means few chemicals have been used and does not mean the same as free range.

Maybe one day we’ll all be vegetarians but I can’t see that happening any time soon. The food industry is gradually getting better at treating animals how they deserved to be treated though in some areas there is still a long way to go. I believe we can still eat meat and animal derived products in a way that does limited harm to animals.

This is a controversial issue for some but I am happy to accept polite comments from anyone who wants to share their thoughts.