So, it’s January and all the resolutions are out in force. On trend with last year we have ‘veganuary‘ – a month living like a vegan and feeling good about your food choices.
Easter last year I was sat on my fiancé’s family allotment tucking into a yummy beef burger with cheese on and lots of ketchup talking to my sister-in-law about vegetarian and vegan life. It was then that I had an epiphany. The next morning I woke up and stopped eating meat, dairy and all things associated with livestock (other than eggs as we only ever got those from my partner’s parents and they are the happiest chickens I know).
Our mindful living, whilst it took it’s extreme form there, didn’t start there. My fiancé is training to become a vet and we both adore animals and are fascinated by them. So, as meat lovers, for a while, instead of becoming veggie we just made sure that we only ate meat that we could trace back to happy, healthy, British farms. Supporting farmers and their livestock. We also did this with cheese and dairy, only buying from the so say happiest, free-range farms.
However, before travelling over to celebrate Easter that year, I read an article about how dairy cows are treated, calves separated from their mother’s too early and kept in sheds in fields. The newspaper’s image for this article was a field full of individual sheds with little calves wedged in each one. I didn’t understand, why not just have them all free to roam in that field instead of cooping them up all day in a lonely, pokey, old shed? To which my partner replied that this is not uncommon and usual practise. I think that’s what made me go to the mysterious land of Vegan.
Now, almost 9 months on, we have a healthy balance but more or less eat a dairy free diet. The milk we do buy is from a gorgeous dairy in the home counties who work on giving the cows they herd the best life possible and the milk is almost a byproduct from that process. Then the meat we buy is from our brilliant local butchers who source only locally and we buy specifically from the farms that are in the same neck of the woods as their slaughter houses. We have also been looking into ethical fishing lately so that we can introduce some fish back into our diet.
So, I do believe there’s an in between. After all, as an animal ourselves, whilst we can sustain a balanced and healthy lifestyle as vegans I still want to enjoy cow’s milk in my tea and a roast beef dinner every now and again. Or bolognese (see my first ever recipe post)! It’s not that we need to eat these things, I just enjoy them. I eat vegan when out with friends and also a lot of our meals at home are now vegan friendly due to habit. In between suits us best, how about you?
L xx
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