LAURA CARTLEDGE: I would just love to give up all the supermarkets for Lent '“ but I can't

'˜You are what you eat' has taken on a different meaning lately, hasn't it?

Mostly because, it turns out, we could be 60 per cent horse.

It’s a meaty subject, if you pardon the pun.

But while some are disgusted by the very idea of it, the majority seem to have more of an issue with having been misled. However, I think the real shock is the journey dinner can take to get to the plate.

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Whichever way you look at it, I am sure of one thing – it makes having been a vegetarian for 12 years worthwhile.

And if you knew how much I miss bacon butties, you would know I don’t say that lightly.

Speaking of giving things up, Lent started yesterday.

Hunting around for inspiration I came across an idea – to give up supermarkets.
Which in light of recent activity didn’t seem a bad shout.

But. How?

Honestly I haven’t got a clue.

Don’t get me wrong... I would love to. But even finding an independent, local, corner shop is easier said than done.

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I hear idyllic tales of farm shops nestled in the surrounding countryside.

Sadly finding them, and being able to afford anything there, is another issue.

It strikes me that we are quite far from The Good Life.

At home we have a plot in the garden but at the moment there is only a not-very-appetising scarecrow to be seen.

Even with my herbivore habits – and the fact vegetables don’t run very fast – I am not a hunter gatherer. Picking blackberries to make a crumble is as close as I get to being Ray Mears.

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I could however survive in my kitchen for years armed only with a tin opener. The risk of death wouldn’t come from starvation, but an avalanche from the dreaded Tupperware cupboard.

And I am not alone. Statistics show UK households throw away almost half a ton of food-related waste each year.

Which is food for thought on its own.

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