…It’s Sunday afternoon, grey, wet and cold, but there is a great sense of satisfaction as we are already back from weekend jobs or (the even nicer alternative) a dog walk, and are now curled up on the sofa. My sister, most definitely snoozing and me semi-watching one of the 90’s TV crackers, I’m thinking The Vicar of Dibley (Legends!) or One Man & his Dog (“Come-by Shep”). What is making this moment perfect, is the waft of the roast dinner lingering through the doorway.

Growing up in England, with my mum from a farming family in Ireland and my Dad being the son of publicans, the traditional Sunday Roast dinner featured a lot. I absolutely loooooved them, along with all the priceless memories that came with each sociable and excitable meal, as we were generally never without a few guests or ‘strays’ as my Dad would call them. 

Needless to say, I was brought up on a fairly meaty diet, and still enjoy all types to this day. However, the sourcing, variety and quality of available meat 20+ years ago, was very different to what we buy now. Today, quite rightly in my opinion, meat has become a contentious issue, in light of globalisation, increased awareness of animal welfare concerns, often linked to cheap mass-produced meat, as well as the impact meat production and transport has on the planet.

Whilst I have great respect for people who opt for a vegetarian diet for reasons of sustainability, I recognise that I am an unlikely candidate to do this myself. Over the last few years, I have successfully made an effort to eat more veggie meals, but also still believe that meat constitutes an important part of a balanced diet. If our fellow cave-men and women were eating it, we can’t feel too guilty doing it ourselves. We can, however, pay more attention to what has happened to the animal and meat we are eating and where it has come from.