Anne McKevitt is a compassionate eater of 48 years. She is vegan. Her journey into eating without sacrificing animal lives started at the tender age of three while visiting her grandparent’s farm. Anne’s grandmother had prepared a traditional Sunday roast dinner and placed a plate of chicken in front of her. Anne immediately looked out of the window and saw chickens roaming nearby. She asked her grandmother if the chicken on the plate was the same as the birds outside. “Yes,” her grandmother replied. Upset, Anne refused to eat a single morsel, understanding full well that what was in front of her was a dead bird.

For the next four years, mealtimes at home and school were tortuous as Anne refused to eat meat, fish and poultry. Every meal was a tear-soaked battleground with her parents and teachers forcing her to eat dead animals. To this day, the distress of having to eat animal flesh still haunts her.

Anne’s parents were exasperated by her refusal to eat meat, and umpteen visits to the local doctor changed nothing. Then, during one visit, a temporary medic was seeing patients. He asked Anne what she liked to eat, and after hearing her response turned to her mum and said, “She just wants to be a vegetarian.” It was an unusual concept at the time and unheard of in the far north of Scotland. From that day on, Anne never ate an animal again. Finally, the battle to eat compassionately was won.  

However, her mum refused to cook for her, so Anne learned to cook all her meals. She asked for pans, a chopping board, knives, plates, cutlery and a separate shelf in the family fridge, all of which she got. Later, when she was 14, Anne gave up eating eggs after learning about the pain and suffering endured by hens in the egg industry.

Anne says: “Being vegan is the single most important thing in my life. It completely defines who I am and what I am about”. Forty-six years on Anne is awestruck at how the vegan movement is fast becoming normal. “I never imagined in my lifetime we would see veganism—plant-based eating becoming mainstream,” she adds. “The move away from cruel eating to compassionate vegan eating is incredible for animals and the planet as a whole. We have a long way to go yet, but the progress made so far is immensely game-changing”.

You, your children, other family members, your friends and your pets are made of flesh. Many animals you eat have family too.