This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Bristol chapter.
With popular documentaries such as Cowspiracy circulating through our social media and an increasing awareness for the issues surrounding eating meat its no wonder an estimated 5.7% of the UK are now vegetarian. Last year I too decided to ditch the meat.
There are many reasons why people choose to turn veggie; issues within the food industry, the environment or their health. For some people it may be the expense of buying meat or an exposure to animal cruelty that causes them to switch. Personally, it was a combination of these factors tied in with knowledge imparted on me by a Croatian hippy. Whilst I mostly enjoyed my new diet, it was short-lived.
Having returned to meat about 5 months ago, and feeling slightly guilty about it, I feel it’s appropriate that I explain the reasons why, giving a slightly different viewpoint on what it’s like to be a veggie.
Firstly, my biggest downfall was cooking. There are so many ways of making vegetarian meals exciting and nutritious and, had I invested in a cookbook or even bothered to Google worthwhile recipes then i’m sure I could’ve enjoyed mealtimes more. My approach was to make a typical meal, lets say bangers and mash, but take out the meat. I was just eating mash.
Definitely the best part of a Christmas dinner, mouth watering levels of deliciousness. (source: http://www.danepak.com/wp-content/uploads/pigs-in-blankets.jpg)
My next big weakness was Christmas. Christmas means turkey, it also means pigs in blankets. With everyone around me endulging I couldn’t resist, and this was the beginning of the end. Christmas started a spiral of dipping in and out of meat and by the time summer came around I was back to my old ways. Believe me, once you let one chicken nugget into your life, it’s game over.
In a way, I miss not eating meat and I still try to include meat-free days but I now enjoy cooking more, feel stonger and have more variety in my diet. For everyone who is a vegetarian I applaud you, and for everyone who is considering meat again I say go for it. We’re all different and there’s no harm in alternating what you do.