​In a time where many people are choosing to opt for a vegetarian or vegan diet for both ethical and health reasons and we are all able to share our opinions easily in various ways, one question seems to be popping up quite frequently: how can you claim to love animals and still eat meat? I can see how this would be difficult to understand but the two things have honestly never been altogether separated in that way for me. I grew up in the countryside, in an area with lots of farms and have always understood where meat came from. It was never hidden from me and I can never remember being surprised or confused that my steak used to be a cow.
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I know that many people like to ignore this fact but, in all honesty, I don’t think you can do that and still claim to be an animal lover. Eating meat means that animals have to be raised in some way for the purpose of eventually being killed for meat. If you ignore this then you are also ignoring their welfare. If you constantly reach for the cheapest packet of meat on the shelves because you like the taste and never once think about how that perfectly plastic-wrapped chicken breast got there, then should you really be eating it?

As someone who really does love animals, this is something that has weighed on my mind for a while now. I have always eaten British meat and local where possible. I do this because it supports British farmers and also because different countries have different rules and standards for raising meat. I have always believed that the British standards are fairly high. However, the more I look into it, the less convinced I become. I, like many others, have been duped by clever labelling. For example, I love pigs and whenever I see pictures or footage of them being raised in barns it makes me so sad for them. That cannot be an enjoyable life. So I would reach for the packets of meat that had the word “outdoor” on them. However, it turns out this can be misleading: “outdoor Bred” on packaging seems to mean that as soon as a piglet is weaned it is put inside and “outdoor reared” still means that much of the pig’s life will be spent in a barn. As nice as these barns may be on some farms, surely this is an animal that should be allowed to wander onto pasture whenever it pleases – we shouldn’t force it to stay in a barn because it makes it fatter quicker and cheaper to buy. It isn’t just the pigs either – we need to be more mindful of how all of our animals are being raised for meat: cows, chickens, lambs, the lot.

​Now this isn’t the point where I proclaim I will, from this point hence, never let another morsel of meat pass my lips. No. I know they say you should “never say never” but I struggle to see a point in my life where I become a vegetarian – I love the taste of meat and believe it is a key component of a balanced diet. (I should also point out that I have nothing against those who choose not to eat meat – the choice is yours alone to make.) It does, however, break my heart to see animals suffer and I believe that if we choose to eat their meat then we have a responsibility to make sure they live a full and happy life before-hand. This is why I have decided I will now be eating higher-welfare meat that has been raised free-range.

I am fully aware that the reason many people do not pick up the free-range packet in the supermarket is because it is so much more expensive – because the animals aren’t farmed intensively, it costs more to produce the meat. I’d be lying if I said this hadn’t swayed my decision making before. So my new commitment is this: from now on, I will eat free-range meat and if this means I cannot afford to buy as much meat as before, then I will eat less of it and have more meat-free meals.

I am keen to learn more about how we can make free-range and higher-welfare meat more attainable and how we can educate people on how to choose meat options with higher animal welfare because I don’t think many people realise what intensive farming is or that it even exists. The labels on packaging don’t help either and often leave us all the more confused. So I will keep you updated on how I get on and if it is much more expensive or difficult to get what you want when going free-range. I’m hoping to learn more about animal welfare too so I hope to share my findings with you soon. In the mean-time, I’m off to the farm shop!

NOTE: If you want to look into these issues further you might find Compassion in World Farming's website an interesting read and I found this site which seems to make the labelling of pork a bit clearer amongst much more information.

Having originally trained as an actress I can sometimes see the need for specifying a certain height or weight for a casting. Perhaps the lead female is based on a book character who has notably been described throughout the books as small and slight, or maybe they are a woman who has a very physical job making it likely that they are a slimmer build. However, after transitioning into presenting, I am constantly irritated by job listings still including a dress size or weight specification. I was going to write surprised then instead of irritated, but I changed it because, sadly, I am no longer surprised by this, more exasperated.

The reason this aggrieves me even more as a presenter than it did when I was acting is that surely it doesn’t matter how much I weigh? Does it affect my ability to present well? Not as far as I can see. In fact, I have put on weight since I started presenting and I’m pretty sure I haven’t become worse because of it.

Television has come a long way since it started – we have diversity in race and gender as well as the regional accents which were avoided for so long – and yet it seems that a lot of people in the profession still see weight as an acceptable discrimination. A bigger production company issued me with an application form recently that asked for my dress size, height and shoe size before then stating that I would have to supply my own outfits for the job, leaving me wondering quite why they needed that information. However, this is starting from bottom, with employers for online or small advertising content giving weight or size requirements. These are the jobs where we all have to start so if this size-ism starts here, how are we supposed to progress?

In fact, the reason I am compelled to write this is because, just today, I was ready to apply to a small, two day job when I saw that one of the specifications was that the prospective presenter had to be between size 6 and 12 and not be any heavier than 56kg. If I was to pay attention to this, I could not apply as, although I am a size 12, I am most certainly quite a bit heavier than 56kg – I think many size 12 people probably are. So I’m weightier than they wanted – should I pay attention to this? I didn’t and generally do ignore weight and size specifications. The fact is I shouldn’t have to even consider this. I shouldn’t be made to think that my weight affects my worthiness for a job.

There are, admittedly, a handful of jobs where weight may need to be taken into account for a purely health and fitness point of view. If I wanted to be a firefighter I would have to be fit and well and being overweight may affect this. However, presenting to camera does not fit into this category.

This is just another case of women being conditioned to believe that their weight is a key part if their value and worth which just isn’t true! It is hard to ignore though, especially in this profession. Just yesterday I was telling my boyfriend that I wasn’t going to apply for a photoshoot because I needed to lose some weight. Now I think about it, it is deeply ingrained in even myself which I’m pretty sure has a lot to do with my professional environment.

I will, however, keep ignoring these requirements where possible and apply to the jobs I find interesting regardless. We are all different shapes and sizes so surely television should represent that too but it seems the opinions of those offering the jobs are that which need to change. If the people employing presenters believe we are only worth looking at or listening to if we are the “perfect” skinny size eight, then what chance do we have.

I know a lot of great people working in this industry; some very small and slight, some who weigh more with gorgeous curves and some in between the two and all of them have talent, integrity and an ability to do their job that is in no way affected by their weight. I don’t stop listening to people’s opinions if they are over a certain weight, so why should viewers? Women are more than a dress size and presenters are more than their looks – it’s time that the people making these programmes realise that.

Hello and thanks for clicking by!

This is the first of, hopefully, many blog posts here on my site. I wanted a place to share things with you and tell you a little bit more about me and what I think about things. I will give you some insights into what life as a TV presenter is like too.

If you have any suggestions about what you'd like me to write about then either comment below or get in touch via the Contact page on this site. I'm open to ideas!

A proper post will be coming shortly but I just wanted to let you all know that this was here. To make sure you stay up to date, follow me on Twitter or like my page on Facebook as I will be announcing new posts there.

In the mean time, the next time you can catch me on telly is with Rocks & Co, this Wednesday 13th and also Saturday and Sunday...all from 8am until 1pm. Hope to see you there!

See you back here soon,
Kathryn x