Meat? Or no Meat?

I used to eat meat. I still do.

I’m not a vegetarian, but I don’t each much meat. I went vegetarian for a year and didn’t find it particularly difficult. Since then, I have meat on occasion, but I never yearn for it. I don’t drink cow’s milk either. Not because I’m vegan or lactose intolerant, but because I prefer other milks such as oat and coconut (and my partner is lactose intolerant, so it is also easier not to).

My current diet is drastically different to my younger self. I had a friend in high school who became vegan (almost overnight, or so it seemed), and I could never understand it. My other friends and I would have long rants about how we could never go vegetarian or vegan. Meat was such a dominating component of my diet, it was how I was brought up, and I couldn’t see past it.

During university I ate significantly less meat than I did at school. Mainly because the expense of meat was not covered in my student budget. Upon coming home, I would request my favourite meat filled dishes from my parents. I had a bit more understanding towards vegetarianism at this point, but still couldn’t get past my block towards veganism. This was until my final year when I met my partner who is lactose intolerant. He didn’t drink cow’s milk, so I stopped drinking it and joined him in drinking other milks. To this day he is amazed that I stopped drinking cow’s milk so easily. I had been so ignorantly stubborn before meeting him that I had never considered trying milk alternatives (for two years I lived with vegans that had eating disorders and it severely tainted my impression of the community).

Now, I didn’t suddenly decide to become vegan. But together, my partner and I committed to a pescatarian diet for a year. We found it easy. We rarely ate meat anyway, so our diet didn’t change much. It was only ‘annoying’ if you went to a restaurant and the meat options were significantly better than the veggie ones.

After a year we relaxed our diet. I still never buy or cook with meat – I have no desire to. But if we are eating out, we’re happy to eat meat. But not all meat. My partner now can’t stand the idea of chicken or pork. I, on the other hand, couldn’t handle a steak. Our year without meat changed our perception on foods we would previously have relished.

Ones relationship with food is complicated, and so heavily influenced by those around you. I can pinpoint most of my dietary choices to certain people and experiences in my life. I have learnt, however, that it is so important to enjoy your meals and to ignore other people’s impressions and dietary choices (it will only damage your relationship with food).