A bit of an introduction first.  I was born in London a few years after the end of WWII.  Rationing was still in force… limited sugar, butter, eggs… so in a working-class family that meant not a lot of meat on the table.

My ideas about 'seafood' were not lobster, crayfish and prawns, rather cockles and mussels collected with my grandfather from low-tide beaches on a Sunday outing. I never fancied eating them or indeed the jellied eels that were also a staple of the east-end of London's workers' eating-out diet.  I had no reasons beyond the fact that they all looked gross… perhaps vague stirrings of why do we have to kill things to eat them – those comments kept to myself.  Food was not plentiful so you were supposed to eat what you were given.

I was brought up to try food at least once.  If I decided that I didn't like something after trying it, my parents were OK with that.  So I had to 'try' eggs.  Hmmm… why would anyone want to eat an egg I thought… I was persuaded to try a hard boiled egg… and promptly vomited it over the dinner table and my parents. No more eggs for me, thank goodness!

We had a boar pig named Horace.  My brother and I used to scratch him under his chin and take him apples and carrots.  We thought he was great - until the day when he was three years old and was no longer 'useful'.  Off went Horace… Where did he go?  To be made into sausages… old pigs are too tough for pork chops or bacon.  Horrors!!!  No more sausages for me, thank you very much!

Another vegetarian was born!  I read all I could about the horrors of abattoirs… how to be healthy without eating meat or other animals… I joined my local vegetarian society and learnt more.  For another 40 years that was enough.  I continued to eat cheese, milk (my mother raised Jersey cows and goats) and used eggs in baking but never managed to actually eat one in any shape or form.

I had decided that veganism was far too difficult for me in this lifetime… perhaps the next time around I would say if anyone asked.

One day I found out that most of the cheese eaten in the US contained animal rennet.  I was now married for the second time, this time to an American and we lived in the USA.  Was I now a hypocrite?  Still eating animal bits when I thought I was not?  I researched the issue and decided that I could no longer in good conscience eat dairy products.  Apart from cheese, eating dairy aided and abetted the veal industry.  Baby cows (calves) were separated from their mothers at birth or close thereafter in order to provide humans with the milk that was intended for the calves.  I had never been a big fan of actually drinking milk – why would anyone want to drink from another species? – even though I had used milk when cooking and baking.

My dear husband was extremely patient even if not actually understanding why I 'had' to do this.  Eating out became difficult – it's easy to find vegetarian food just about anywhere… but vegan???

My family thought I had gone too far… what would I eat?  How would I stay healthy?  Thanks to the Internet and numerous vegan recipe books I began to change what we ate.  Again, many thanks to my dear husband for understanding that the food I cooked was healthy... he has become a home vegan – eating whatever he wants outside of the home – and often eating vegetarian because he wants to, not to impress me!

We gave dinner parties with all vegan food.  Initially a bit suspicious, our friends nonetheless accepted our invitations and gradually began to enjoy what I cooked… cheese free cheesecakes… egg-free chocolate mousse… dairy and meat-free lasagna… as well as hundreds of recipes that actually never did contain meat or other animal ingredients.

Am I healthier now?  Yes.  I have not had a GP for over 20 years… good bone density (regular checkups!) and I help reduce the number of animals consumed by a small number.  Does it make any difference?  I remember the Starfish (http://www.starfishcharity.org) story about helping one starfish at a time return to the ocean and have a chance to survive.

Even if all I do is make more people aware of options available to them, I am making a difference.

And this is not taking into account any impact on the environment… the cost of factory farming… but that is an article for another day!

To close, here is a short poem that inspires me:

I looked at all the caged animals... the cast-offs of human society.  I saw in their eyes love and hope, fear and dread, sadness and betrayal. And I was angry. "God," I said, "This is terrible! Why don't you do something?" God was silent for a moment, then He spoke softly. "I have done something," He replied. "I created you."

• So You Want to be a Vegetarian