To go veggie or not

When I became vegetarian it was my choice. I was 12 and already developed a dislike to red meat, but when faced with snails on a school trip to France my meat eating days were over. It may have been a slightly extreme action to take to avoid snails but I have never looked back. Growing up, both me and my two sisters were veggie. My dad soon followed and then my mum partly for health reasons. My brother didn't really get a choice after that. Only one meal a night served in this household thank you.

Now as adults we are faced with a tough decision to make. Should we feed our kids meat or should we give them a choice? My sister had a baby over a year ago and was adamant that her children were only going to eat organic and vegetarian food. Unfortunately her baby has developed a love for turkey twizzlers and beef stew thanks to his naughty child minder! Some meat eating friends argued with me that you should give your kids a choice as you could alienate them growing up. This is one of my sisters fears as she doesn't want to her son to be the 'difficult' child at birthday parties.

Out of my class of thirty, around half of us are veggie which is very unusual amongst the average population (I have a theory that journalists have a more open view of the world, as with vegetarians!). However what I'm getting at is that being a veggie growing up today is a much easier option. than it was only ten years ago! Firstly there is definitely more choice in restaurants and supermarkets for us veggies (although the veggie option at most restaurants still tends to be focused around goats cheese - stacks, pastas and tarts to name but a few way). Increasingly people are becoming aware of where their meat is coming from, thanks to the likes of Hugh and Jamie, and opt for free range/organic or avoid it altogether. And now a growing number of people choose to eat veggie because, as one friend told me this evening, it was cheaper.

Going back to my question of whether we should bring our kids up veggie or not depends on what values you wish to teach them. As a veggie you can still have a varied diet and get all the protein, vitamins and minerals you need, so no need to worry there. The world in which our children will live suffers from food shortages and climate change. Both of which can be helped by being veggie. Did you know the biggest contributor to global warming was from the methane produced by farming cows - more than aviation and car fumes put together!? To feed 100 people you only need an acre of wheat, whereas the same amount of land would only feed 3 if it was used for grazing cows? These issues must be addressed so that future generations can enjoy the same lives that we have so far. So in answer to my question, make sure the decision you make for your kids has their children's best intentions too.