There’s really no getting around the fact that I love meat. The carnivore lifestyle got its hooks into me at such an early age that, for the longest time, the idea of going without it was something I never seriously considered. Burgers are amazing, meat topped pizzas are fantastic and celebrating a success will often involve going out for steaks.

But time has crept on and the idea of having a main meal without meat doesn’t seem quite so crazy any more. There are a number of reasons for this. First is the thorny, but inescapable, issue of the environmental impact. Even if I didn’t believe in climate change (which I do), there’s really no dodging around the environmental impact of the meat industry. It’s honestly a little startling how much of the Amazon is being cut down to provide land for meat cultivation. As long as global meat production is so stupidly unsustainable, I feel like I need to at least reduce my meat intake. If lab-grown meat becomes viable, then I can wave my ethical concerns goodbye, but that doesn’t seem like it’ll happen in the immediate future.

Another thing which has got me considering more meat-free meals is that it’s honestly not as much of a sacrifice these days. Decades of vegetarianism going more mainstream means that most shops and restaurants cater to vegetarians these days. Not to mention that there are a lot of different things you can replace meat with to meet your dietary needs. More than I realized, actually. True, none of them will perfectly imitate meat, but diet soda doesn’t perfectly imitate regular soda, and I managed to live with that difference.

Ultimately, whether I reduce the meat in my diet, or replace it entirely, it’s going to be a gradual process. Trying to go, well, ‘cold turkey’ always backfires, so I won’t be going bacon free in the next day or so.