‘Having access to great tasting produce and a healthy diet within a sensible budget is a basic right’ 

An ethical omnivore enjoys a diet that is far healthier and tastier than our typical western diet. We aim to achieve this in a realistic, enjoyable and affordable way.

Everyone has their own motivation when it comes to changing their diet; to lose weight, to be healthier, reduce meat consumption, to address environmental or animal welfare, to enjoy great tasting food. Being an Ethical omnivore is about an attitude towards what you consume and the effect it has on you and others. Getting the balance right is very rewarding.

Ethical omnivore supports all diets choices, meat, pescaterian, vegetarian, transitioning vegan, reducetarian or flexitarian.

Taking a fact based view of the industry, combining it with a love of great food, plus the desire to be healthy and ethical our aim is to provide you with the information and support you need to navigate the route to a better diet and lifestyle.

About me – where did Ethical Omnivore begin?

I am a great believer that you are what you eat. I am also mindful that my choices have impacts on others. Great food is a big part of my life so I wanted to understand what I was really eating and if I was making the right choices. Go back several years, we ate meat, dairy and fish every day. I thought vegetarians and vegans were noble folk, but I didn’t have enough motivation or discipline to join them. I was convinced that buying free range and adding veg on the side was enough.

But I still had nagging doubt, so I started researching the food industry as well as health relating to diet. It started as a simple quest, but as I got further into my research, my views changed more than I could ever have imagined. We have dramatically changed our diets and our approach to food with wonderful results, we did it gradually, step by step and will continue to learn as we go. I wanted to share what we have learnt and create a community of people that share our values; omnivores, vegetarians and vegans alike. The ability to learn about and embrace this diet without feeling restricted or having to deny myself certain foods was very liberating. Having choice was the key for me.

A flavour of my blog: 

  1. 48% of eggs produced in the UK are still from caged hens (DEFRA). Did you think about eggs that are used in ingredients? The majority of us are all still being eggs from caged hens.
  2. Salmon and chicken are often the choice of ‘part time’ vegetarians and people eating a ‘lighter’ diet. Salmon and chicken are two of our most intensively farmed animals. The majority of it is very poor quality, higher in fat and with some of the highest levels of antibiotic use in the food industry, health-wise, this represents a ticking time bomb.
  3. Taking cows off pasture and raising them intensively in barns to speed up growth and reduce production costs is a highly inefficient. 7Kg of grain equated to 1Kg of live weight gain (meat). This is grain that humans could eat. Our high meat consumption and the demand for cheap meat produced via intensive farmed systems, is creating food poverty, massive environmental damage and is unsustainable. Cows are ruminants and naturally eat grass making grass fed beef and efficient source of meat.
  4. The majority of us do not have enough fibre in our diet, this presents a significant health risk, cardiovascular disease, poor digestive health including increased risk of colon cancer, weight gain and poor blood sugar control including an increased risk of type 2 diabetes. We’ll explore increasing your intake of high-fiber foods.
  5. Quinoa is a seed, grown in the UK and a complete source of protein (containing all nine essential amino acids) and a healthier protein choice then meat or dairy.
  6. The farming methods used has a massive effect on the quality of end product. We tend to think in terms of cost when we shop, we need to start thinking in terms of value. We can help you gain access to the best produce within your typical budget. Being ethical doesn’t mean spending more money, it means being aware and being smart.
  7. The healthiest diet is scientifically proven to be a plant based diet. You can gain everything you need from plants alone. This was news to me! It doesn’t mean you have to become a vegan overnight, but it means taking a fresh view of the balance between the animal and plant based foods you eat.
  8. UK raised lamb, hogget and mutton (sheep) is our least intensively farmed and most efficient and sustainable form of meat.
  9. The price war on milk has dramatically affected our dairy industry. Zero-grazing dairies are the fastest growing producers of milk in the UK as well as globally. The cows don’t eat grass in fields, they live in concrete sheds for their whole adult lives eating grain and fodder. Not only does this pose huge animal welfare issue, it alters the omega 3 and 6 in the milk, which is important in preventing a range of diseases including cancer and heart disease (the modern Western diet typically has 15 times more omega 6 than omega 3).

Being an Ethical Omnivore (Ethivore or EOr)

The ethics of diet is not a new topic, and is already widely debated. But it is a recognised fact that our society consumes too much animal produce (meat, fish, dairy, eggs) and that the damage caused by intensive / factory farming is already a runaway train. And so, while we might aim to reduce our intake of these products (reducetarian / flexitarian) it is essential to make the right choices. With approximately 97% of the UK’s population being omnivores, the choices we make help to steer the industry’s decision-making processes. We need to support good farming practices.

The food industry is just that, an industry of giant corporations and conglomerates, powerful and greedy, one which competes with the oil, pharmaceutical, and defence industries in terms of size and strength. The food industry as a whole is unethical and should be a concern to all of us, it is in every cupboard in every home. Despite the size and power of the industry it in the individual consumer that holds the power. With each beep of the till, you are making a choice, you just need to know the right choice to make.

If everyone does even a little bit its add up to a huge amount. Being an Ethical Omnivore gives a flexible, positive approach to diet, and is intended to be inclusive, supportive and realistic to our busy daily lives.

Blog / Site map

It is roughly split into key areas:

  1. Food:
    1. Health and Diet Taking positive action to improve health and diet through your food choices.
    2. Recipes – Yummy and easy dishes (and I mean yummy).
  2. Knowledge – The intention is to share fact based information that you need to know to help you make the right choices.
  3. Ethivore guide – Advice and guidance you need to help make changes to your diet.
  4. More – a lists of books, articles, documentaries to view if you want to learn more.


There are many areas open for debate, and I do not claim to be an authority on these subjects. Continue the research for yourself, as all the information is out there.

We are UK-based so the information is UK-centric, but the same principles apply in every country. Read, question, research, and share.

We are a not-for-profit organisation focused on sharing useful information about the food industry, good food and healthy eating to benefit us all.

Omnivore (noun) – a person that eats a variety of food of both plant and animal origin.
Ethical (adjective) – relating to moral principles, that one believes to be morally correct and ethical

We’d love to hear from you, please use the contact form below: