How I manage to cope without bacon

Hello there, Readers.

Some of you who know me will know that I do not eat food like this:

or like this: 

And you have probably guessed by now that I am a vegetarian. If you didn't already know that. When people find this out there are a number of questions they usually ask:

- How long have you been a vegetarian for?

- Don't you miss bacon? (or whatever their favourite meat is)

- But you eat fish though, surely?

- So you don't eat eggs then?

The responses to which are "I have always been a vegetarian. I have never eaten bacon and therefore don't miss it. A fish is not a plant. Yes, I eat eggs and dairy" 

All my responses tend to be met with confused expressions- as if I had said something incomprehensible. My reasons for being a vegetarian have changed over time though. Originally, I was brought up vegetarian and so had no choice in the matter. I simply didn't eat meat. The reason I continue a vegetarian are now different. 

Firstly, let me explain- I do not believe that there is anything morally wrong with the concept of eating animals. We are evolved to eat them. Our teeth are shaped to eat meat. Its completely natural, as far as I am concerned. However, this doesn't mean that I don't believe that the conditions animals raised for slaughter are kept in do not need changing. Were I to eat meat, I would be so phenomenally picky about where my meat came from (must be from the UK, must be free range, must adhere to certain standards of humane living conditions) that it would be expensive enough for me to eat meat extremely seldom. 

The reasons I stay vegetarian can be narrowed down to two main reasons:

Firstly, meat production has enormous environmental impact at its current rate. Cows are super farty. Lets faee it. Lots more methane in the air. It also causes pollution of the water, of the soil, and the air. 

Secondly, it is extremely wasteful of resources.  Huge amounts of resources are used to produce comparatively low yields of food, compared to if the same resources had been to produce fruit, grain or vegetables. ( http://bit.ly/1t7eA4v ) And in a world where millions are starving to death, don't you think there is a responsibility for that land to start producing enough food... for everyone? The planet's population is growing and ageing at the same time, so we need to be able to feed everyone.

I'm not suggesting EVERYONE stops eating meat entirely. Just cutting down to having one meat free week a month is thought to make a huge difference (google meat free week per month to find out more) 

If it didn't before, does this look more appealing now? 

So yeah. Let me know what you think about eating meat- are you a carnivore? Could you not give up bacon? Perhaps you are a vegan, or a vegetarian like me! Leave a comment and tell me :)

Today, this is me:

I promise I had face paint for a reason :p

See you tomorrow,

-Rosa

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