After nearly two decades of vegetarianism I was persuaded by an acupuncturist that the only cure for my stressful life was to eat meat. "Tofu won't do it", she said. I grasped at the straw, bit the bacon butty and proceeded to eat everything that moved. "I've done my bit", I said – but didn't feel any healthier.

I buried any empathy with animals and basked in the glow of social acceptance – until I went snorkelling on the Great Barrier Reef among fishes and turtles. It was a magical experience, but on my return to the boat, there in front of me was a large, open-mouthed fish – centrepiece of the lunch table. He or she was surrounded by equally dead crustaceans. Good God – I'd just been swimming with their kin, as it were.

Suddenly, seeing things from another creature's point of view made me look hard at where I'd been those past few, meat-eating years. Not a good place!

I now try my best not to confuse self-interest, convenience or social acceptance with genuine comfort and peace. I've even moved on and have been an ethical vegan for nearly seven years now. It's been an extraordinary journey and I've never felt better.

So, when Ms Jones giggles about her bacon sarnie being "deliciously redolent with naughtiness", she misses
the point. Vegetarianism isn't some strict school teacher that we have to get one over. It is an imperfect attempt to create a fairer, kinder world where might is not right and where humans do not exploit and brutalise other sentient beings simply because they are able to.

And where has your nutrition guru, "Mr Meat", been for the last few decades? Meat is a "perfect protein" – perfect for damaging your kidneys, helping you towards heart disease and preparing the ground for cancer. It's certainly not why vegetarians tend to suffer less from disease than meat eaters, be admitted to hospital less and live longer.

Finally, what on earth were you eating? No wonder you and the family were bored! I don't know any veggies or vegans who
live solely on Quorn and pasta. There are loads of ready-made foods, supermarkets and health shops, an avalanche of
recipe books and internet resources which would broaden your menus
without too much effort.

Great taste of traditional meat

From: John Ullyott, The Paddocks, Middleton on the Wolds, Driffield, East Yorkshire.

The front cover of Life and Style (July 2) caught my attention "Bring home the bacon – Why a life-long vegetarian turned carnivore" so I immediately turned to page 13, being involved in pig production and the headline was music to my ears as I am sure it was to many other pig producers "Why vegetarian decided to bring home the bacon" – at long last! I read the amusing and interesting article by Eileen Jones and was pleased with the overall theme – but I would love to ask Eileen where she obtained her turkey.

Turkey which has been traditionally reared, hand plucked, hung for at least seven days and then eviscerated, properly managed in the kitchen and served with all the trimmings will never be "bland". Most of the people who buy our Christmas turkeys return a verdict of "beautiful", "best ever", "so tasty", "can we order one for next year" but never "bland". Some of these customers have bought our Christmas turkeys for over
40 years.

Come on Eileen, buy your turkey from a traditional farm-fresh producer and enjoy a wonderful Christmas dinner experience! We would be happy to supply that special bird.