Is a good meal something that's got dead stuff in it?

It's strange, when I tell people I'm vegan I feel a little bit like I'm confessing my sins. I know it's nothing to be ashamed of but when I tell people, I feel like I've insulted them. ‘Oh, you're one of those’ they might say, they might even go as far as to ask why. I get lulled into a false sense of security and start rolling off statistics (90% of stats are made up on the spot you know), facts and general reasons. Either the eyes start glazing over or they pointedly say they don't want to hear anymore, turn around and start a conversation about the weather with the person next to them, leaving me to feel a bit like a social leper.

Now what makes my experience of being a vegan even more fun (I know, like eating humus all the time isn't fun enough anyway) is having a boyfriend who's a die hard carnivore. He believes, as he's constantly telling me, that ‘a good meal isn’t a good meal unless it’s got dead stuff in it’. On one memorable family occasion his brother drunkenly waved a half eaten pork pie in my face slurring 'you know you want to'.

Anyway, I probably sound like one of those die hard vegans, the ones that as Bill Bailey put it, 'won't even pass through a town that's got ham in the name’. Actually, I've only been vegan for six months now and not even that long if you count my slip-ups. Now here's the paradox, those who eat meat are those that are the most disappointed when I say that. I find myself sort of writing a vegan contract with explanations, rules and get out clauses. So to begin, I explain, I'm a commercial vegan (self-named). It sounds awful, like a vegan that's hit the mainstream, the girls aloud of veganism, or the Topshop... well, you get the point.

What I mean is I don't mind eating animals. If I could get out and hunt my own food maybe I would. Although, perhaps faced with the prospect of killing a cute bunny I would think twice. What I don't like is the intensive farming methods we use to exploit animals - it's not great for them, our environment or the planet in general (can you believe our planet could actually be destroyed by cow's farts?).

It’s become a bit of a topical issue as late with reports urging people to cut down their meat and dairy consumption by half, returning to pre-WWII levels. It’s not surprising since 1/5th of carbon emissions in the UK are caused by food with half of that down to meat and dairy. It goes up another 5-20% if you include rainforest cleared for cattle or cattle feed (1). Even our own NHS is looking to exclude meat from their menu in a bid to cut their carbon emissions. Gosh, I haven’t even mentioned the health benefits!

Anyway, I think there are many reasons people choose to be vegan/vegetarian though they are widely misunderstood. We are not all new-age hippies, though even if we were that would not detract from the very good reasons for becoming one. So if you don’t understand the reasons, I challenge you to find out.

1. http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/sep/30/food.ethicalliving