I doubt many meat eaters could stomach watching, let alone slaughter their own animal. Picking up a packet in the supermarket you can never know the circumstances of the animals slaughter, how much it understands what's going on and how much distress and pain it suffers in the end. I still eat fish which for some vegans still makes me a monster but I think we all should at least try to reduce animal suffering, our global consumption of meat is ridiculous and even those who have convinced themselves that the HAVE to eat meat can still reduce that amount with the slightest of willpower.

Not if they are cooked 'properly' in dripping they aren't!

I'm a vegetarian and I try not to have dairy or eggs. Only really happens if I eat out and it's unavoidable, but I feel like I do my bit. I also don't worry too much about beer.

Anybody suggesting that a lack of meat causes them ills isn't getting the right balance. When I first went veggie I just ate meat replacement stuff from the freezer at Tesco and didn't feel great for a while. Now I have a balanced diet with a lot of lentils and pulses, vegetables and slow release carbs.

I'd also class myself as a foodie/amateur cook and I am most definitely not some stick thin, pale skinned hippy. Always remember, chips are vegan

Veganism is a way of living which seeks to exclude, as far as is possible and practicable, all forms of exploitation of, and cruelty to, animals for food, clothing or any other purpose. Insects are not animals, but personally, I get all I need from plants so I don't eat insects.

Sometimes it is not possible or practicable to avoid killing pests in order for me to live a happy and healthy life. I don't own bug spray, but I did kill an ants nest in my home with poison about 10 years ago.

If everybody was vegan how many pigs, sheep, cows and chicken do you think you would see running around.
Not many I fear, who would shell out £x to keep a cow in there back garden if they couldn't even drink the milk?