After two years of living with an intermittently vegan, intermittently vegetarian, occasionally carnivorous and invariably combative teenage daughter, I feel well versed in the social, ethical and environmental arguments around eating animals, eggs and dairy. My boys remain committed, unquestioning, steak-loving carnivores but I find that, though it may take a little more thought, I am happy to eat much less meat than I used to. In fact, if I am away from home for a few days I positively crave vegetables.
For most of us, eating less meat, less often would be better for our health, better for the planet and, if we use some of the money saved to buy thoughtfully, better for the animals involved. You might think this is just a self interested vegetable grower speaking, in 2010 I bought the Riverford meatbox company from my brother Ben, so it is in my interests to promote a balanced diet, with at least some meat. Grazed grass and clover plus manure (the welcome by-product) are also vital to maintaining soil fertility and allowing us to grow vegetables successfully. Our message, which you will hear us preach occasionally through the year, will be to eat good meat less often, to eat all the animal and to be sure that you are happy with how it is produced. We know all the farmers who supply our meat (many of them also supply vegetables); the animals are slaughtered carefully in a local, small family run abattoir and hung and butchered by hand by our team of skilled butchers. Even my daughter is happy to eat it, sometimes.
How does meat fit into your diet, if at all?
Guy Watson from Riverford in Devon
Hello Guy I really enjoyed your thoughtful and well balanced views on Meat v Veg in our diet. I have been a non- meat eater for most of my adult life but do now eat fish. My husband is a carnivore and we both ensure that meat comes from a reliable source such as Riverford our a local Butcher. I believe that Compassion in world farming is a good idea and I have recently joined the campaign to abolish Sow stalls in the rest of the EU. Linda
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Hi Linda – thank you for your comment. We believe strongly in Compassion in World Farming and are proud to have won 3 of their awards recently. If you want to know any more about our animal welfare, here’s the link: http://www.riverford.co.uk/wash/about_riverford/animal_welfare/
We had two daughters who decided to become lacto-veggie, and took the easy way out by doing the same ourselves. Found that we didn’t miss meat at all. After some years and leaving home, treacherous daughters started eating meat again. We started as well, but only in restaurants, when veggie restaurants started to die out. We now eat meat at home occasionally, but only Soil Association accredited organic. By the way, we have received two very different varieties of chicken from Riverford. One is broad-chested and has comparatively small thighs; the other is deep-chested. They taste quite different from each other. Can you tell me the breeds?