How old were when you became a vegetarian?

I was six when I became vegetarian. I’d got to that age where I started asking questions about where food came from. My mum was totally honest with me so I realised that meat was actually dead animals and, being an animal lover, I couldn’t bring myself to eat it any more.

How did your friends and family react?

It took my mum a few months to get used to the idea as I was quite young and vegetarianism was less common in those days. To start with, she was worried about my health, then she saw how happy and energetic I was and she has since become a vegetarian herself. Many of my friends copied me though when I told them the little I did know then about the meat industry.

What was the hardest thing about giving up meat and fish?

For some reason I still liked the smell of barbecues! But there soon became so many meat-free burgers, bangers and so on in the shops that there was nothing I could possibly miss.

Does anyone ever make fun of you for being a veggie?

Even today, people try to provoke me into an argument about meat-eating. People have waved meat in my face and said things like, ‘Go on, have some, you know you want to.’ It can get really boring when people won’t give it a rest. I tell them what my beliefs about meat-eating are and then ignore them. They just want to get a reaction, so I don’t bite!

What advice would you give to young veggies who get a hard time for it?

Don’t let them upset you! Remember how many millions of animals are being slaughtered every day for people to eat meat. Vegetarians have chosen to make steps towards saving the environment (factory farming causes pollution of waterways), staying healthy (animal fat-based diets have been linked to heart disease and cancers), and saving the lives of animals. You should always remember to be proud to be vegetarian and never feel embarrassed about it. You’ve made the right choice.

Have a look at the Viva! website at: www.viva.org.uk

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