Don’t worry, you don’t have to completely say bye to meat or fish!

 

A flexitarian is defined as ‘a person who has a primarily vegetarian diet but occasionally eats meat or fish’. That doesn’t sound too bad for all the meat lovers out there? A flexitarian can be described as a less strict vegetarian, as vegetarians avoid meat and fish and stick to a plant based diet with the luxury of dairy products (so not as far as a vegan). If you’re eager to help save the environment or just want to experience flavoursome new dishes, why not try becoming a flexitarian for a week or two? Flexitarian's are flexible. It completely depends on your commitment to how often you can avoid meat dishes. Although, as you develop your taste in vegetarian meals you may experience a desire for more, swapping meat for plant base alternatives. 

 

Various supermarkets now offer delicious vegetarian meals, as well as food delivery companies like Riverford . Waitrose offer recipes such as grilled tender-stem broccoli with chilli dressing & poached eggs. Sainsbury’s offer vegan wellingtons. Many restaurants and cafe’s now cater for vegetarians and vegans, so why not try a vegetarian meal the next time you’re out for dinner. Have a sneak peak at the vegetarian menu, you could always start with a meat appetiser and move onto a vegetarian main course. 

 

Overall, there are various benefits of becoming a flexitarian. Whether you want to protect the planet, improve your health or be kind to animals. By becoming flexitarian you are able to reduce your carbon footprint, as livestock is a massive source of greenhouse gas emissions. Reducing the amount of beef and lamb you eat and switching to chicken and fish, significantly decreases the amount of greenhouse gas emissions. Likewise, there are various health benefits such as lower risks of heart disease & type 2 diabetes, healthy benefits of weight loss and overall a flexitarian diet is nutrient dense. 

 

One response to contemplating a flexitarian diet: 

“Yes, I have considered eating less meat but it’s hard as my parents make dinners for the whole family and usually there is meat in the food. However we have cut down on the amount of meat and fish we eat, some days we don’t have meat for dinner such as when we have soup.” (Hannah Grude). 

 

A flexitarian diet can also be viewed as more affordable than a meat eater’s diet. So if you’re young and still living with your parents, who don’t want to cater for every individual at the table. Try to persuade them to swap at least 3 meat meals a week for 3 vegetarian meals. They’re more likely to save a decent amount of money, regardless of where you shop, meat does tend to be more expensive than plant based alternatives. Studies depict that a main meal consisting of fish or meat costs £1.77 per person, contrasted to a plant-based meal which only costs £1.06 per person. Furthermore, vegetarian or vegan dishes tend to be quicker to prepare.

 

Could being a flexitarian become the new vegan? Veganism became incredibly popular during 2010, however could being flexitarian actually be better for the environment? Some processed vegan products such as mycoproteins and soy, have a dark side. As mycoproteins require a sufficient amount of energy necessary to process the products. Likewise, the soybean industry is causing widespread deforestation and a displacement of indigenous people and small farmers.

 

So overall, a flexitarian diet can be depicted as environmentally friendly, healthier for you body and delicious. So why not try being a flexitarian and if you want to run the extra mile possibly consider becoming a pescatarian or vegetarian.