Meat and two veg

 (A personal journey from committed carnivore to No Meat Athlete)

Growing up in England during the late 70’s and 80’s every main meal was a variation on the theme of potatoes, another vegetable and a piece of meat. The son of an Irishman my childhood potato consumption was more than many would eat in a lifetime. And when I say ‘a piece of meat’ that could have been an overdone pork chop, a not-so-juicy chunk of roast beef, the weekly dose of ‘minced beef’, which would later become a source of medical and political concern, or the undisclosed list of body parts that constitute the filling of a sausage.

This description of English cuisine is probably enough to roll the eyes of the most ardent anglophile, but to me this was the way people ate, and it is the way I continued to eat until I went to university. Sometimes for financial reasons but mostly for convenience I would go for extended periods without eating meat. However, my true colours would eventually show as I tucked in to a plate of Chicken Madras, a bacon sandwich or an after-hours kebab.

Finances or convenience aside, what other reasons are there for a meat-free diet? I have never enjoyed the thought of animals suffering but like many people I chose to shut my eyes to the issue. My views began to change around ten years ago when I watched the movie Temple Grandin (LINK), a story about an autistic woman who campaigned for the humane treatment of cattle during the slaughtering process. Shortly afterwards I read the book by Jonathan Safran Foer ‘Eating Animals’ (also a movie LINK). This had a real impact on me: I stopped buying cheap bags of frozen chicken almost immediately.  Surely it was enough that I only ate ‘bio’ meat or animals that had probably been shot whilst living wild and free. At least that’s what I told myself as I tucked into a sumptuous Eland (type of antelope) steak.

What about the health benefits of a meat-free or plant-based diet? For many this is still a contentious issue but I modified my long-held beliefs after watching ‘The Game Changers’ (LINK). In addition to a host of health benefits, this documentary convinced me that it was possible to be big and strong without eating animals. I was ready to give up meat and become a ‘no meat athlete’ (LINK).

When people found out I was a vegan leaning vegetarian most assumed it was a decision made by my wife. Some have even asked if I eat a sneaky burger when she is not around. The truth is that we decided to stop eating meat at the same moment, and for the same reasons. We both feel lighter, spiritually and physically for making that choice. However, to this day we maintain that if we really have a craving for meat we will go ahead and have some. So far, it hasn’t happened.  

And finally, what about the environment. Another reason, another documentary. This time it was Cowspiracy (LINK) that proved to be transformative. My take-away from this movie was ‘stop eating meat’ if you care about the planet and want to reduce your carbon footprint.

Not eating animals is one of the easiest things you can do to reduce your impact on our planet. If you don’t like the idea of becoming totally plant based then try a few ‘no meat’ days a week and take it from there.

In an article published in 2017 Wynes and Nicholas (LINK) identified a plant-based diet as one of seven ‘high-impact’ actions an individual can take to reduce their personal greenhouse gas emissions in developed countries. In fact, eating a plant-based diet made it to their recommended list of “four widely applicable high-impact actions with the potential to contribute to systematic change and substantially reduce annual personal emissions”.

The other recommendations and identified actions will undoubtedly become the subject of a future blog post, but for now why not try the really easy one: eat less meat.

To start you off here is a recipe for a delicious vegan pancake you can try instead of your Saturday morning eggs and bacon (LINK).   

by Martyn Maguire