I'm not a tree hugger, honest!

I've been a vegetarian since I did one too many interviews about Mad Cow Disease back in the 80s. The more I found out about some of our farming methods, the more I gagged at the whole idea of eating meat. We have lots of animated discussions about this at home, because my boys are adamant carnivores, so as their mum, I find myself cooking meat even though I hate it!

But I reckon we all should go meat-free. After all, since we "rich" countries in the West can easily get a healthy balanced diet from beans, pulses and vegetables, how can it be morally defensible to slaughter animals?

The Friends of the Earth (with research done at Oxford University) say we could prevent around 45,000 early deaths if we all cut back to just three meat meals a week. What's more, it would save the NHS an estimated 1.2 BILLION pounds a year!

So I say, go on! Give it a go! Try a meat-free Monday and do yourself, and the rest of the world, some real good.

PS My love to local pig farmer, Audrey French, who's a regular on my show. Audrey, please don't take this as a snub to your marvellous bacon sarnies. On days when Audrey comes into the studio with her fare, I become a "flexitarian" - that's a vegetarian who just cannot resist the smell of free-range, home-cured bacon!