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Have you always been a flexitarian?
I've been an omnivore for most of my life. I was born and raised in France so I never gave much thought to not eating meat. Then about five years ago my husband was pressing me to cook more vegetarian food because of the environmental impact of meat production. I looked further into it and was shocked to discover the high toll meat consumption takes on the environment and on animal welfare. At the same time I had a lot of misconceptions about a meat-free diet, such as that it would take longer to cook or that I would get bored with vegetarian food quickly. Then I discovered Plenty by Yotam Ottolenghi – the cookbook was a real inspiration to start cooking meat-free dishes. I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it and started experimenting with other vegetarian cuisines. From then on I decided to only eat meat occasionally. The flexibility of eating meat and fish from time to time is perfect for me.
What inspired you to start writing the blog?
I have always enjoyed cooking and creating recipes. I enjoyed being flexitarian so much that I wanted to show how easy it is and how delicious meat-free recipes can be. A blog appeared to be the perfect medium to do that. It gives me the opportunity to share my recipes and to share information so that people can better understand the issues around food; quality versus quantity, waste, seasonality, and locally grown produce.
The aim of my blog is not only to promote eating less meat but also to show how we can make our food more sustainable by eating local, seasonal produce. Being a flexitarian is not about not eating meat but about eating less of it. And when you do eat meat, make sure you know where it came from and that it is good meat; raised to humane standards, and organic, if possible. I am trying to be an advocate for vegetarian and vegan food so that more and more people can try adopting a meat-free diet even if it is only for one day a week.
What other things to you do to live sustainably?
On a professional level I run an eco-retail website, selling organic clothes, English seasonal flowers, plus many more organic and ethical products. On a personal level I tend to buy organic, sustainable and locally produced food as much as possible, as well as doing the more obvious things such as recycling, minimising waste and walking my children to school as often as I can. We are also very conscious about reducing chemicals at home and favour eco cleaning products and eco paints. We compost what we can, avoid chemicals in the garden and we look out for sustainability certifications on the products we buy – so when buying wood, for furniture for example, we always look out for FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certified products, and for fish we would choose items with a MSC (Marine Stewardship Council) certification.
What have you learned along the way – while being flexitarian and writing about it?
I've discovered vegan cooking and am now comfortable baking delicious cakes without eggs or butter. I am experimenting with a lot of ethnic cuisines, as they are very well suited for vegetarian dishes. I am also learning so many amazing facts about food and I'm now convinced that a plant-based diet is the way forward. Did you know that meat production generates 18% of global greenhouse gas emissions? That it takes 1,000 litres of water to produce one litre of milk? That 70% of deforestation in the Amazon basin is attributed to cattle ranching? That most of the meat sold in supermarkets is produced intensively with little regard to animal welfare? We need to rethink the way we produce and consume food and for me, flexitarianism is a step in the right direction.
What do your family and friends make of your endeavours?
Everyone has been very supportive. Some of my friends have even been inspired and are cooking my recipes, which always makes me nervous but fortunately they tend to like them. Thanks to their feedback I have improved the blog by adding extra features such as a weekly meat-free plan every Friday. My parents were very sceptical at first, especially my dad who has been raised on the idea that there is no good meal without meat. My mum is now sending me recipes she devises herself and my dad has relaxed. My husband and children are also flexitarian and I hope to inspire many more people to eat less meat.
What encourages you to keep a flexitarian diet, and to keep writing about it?
My motivations to adopt the flexitarian diet were environmental at first. Today, I'm increasingly finding animal farming an alien notion and find it very distressing to see the conditions some animals are kept in. Also since becoming a flexitarian, I feel much healthier. I truly believe that the future of food lies in a plant-based diet. Our current food system is unsustainable due to the high environmental impact of meat production and the depletion of our seas is almost beyond repair as a result of over-fishing. I really want to convey this message. It is very encouraging to see a lot of like-minded projects, blogs and campaigns. Flexitarianism is on the rise in developed nations and today you can also find more and more alternatives to animal-derived food products in the shops.
Annabelle tweets here and blogs at theflexitarian.co.uk.
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