Vegan. Hunter. Mostly vegetarian. If you think those words can’t sit in the same room without a fight, this conversation will surprise you. We’re joined by Mark, an author and stand-up comedian who once went fully vegan, then slid back toward an 80% vegetarian life, and he’s candid about why: ethics, habit, comfort, lockdown, travel, and the simple fact that food is never just food.

We talk about the part of veganism that rarely gets airtime the quieter middle, where people genuinely care about animal welfare and sustainable eating but still live inside an industrial food system built for scale, speed, and low prices. Mark breaks down what pushed him toward a plant-based diet, why realistic meat substitutes exist (and why that’s not hypocrisy), and why cheese and milk can be surprisingly emotional and physical turning points. From our side, we bring a field-to-plate view of ethical meat, hunting, deer management, and what traceability looks like when you can account for the whole animal.

Then we zoom out to the biggest scandal almost everyone ignores: food waste. We get into freeganism, supermarket throwaways, recipe boxes, and the uncomfortable truth that the most unethical meal might be the one that never gets eaten at all. We also keep it grounded in reality: not everyone can afford “perfect” food, and any honest conversation about climate impact and food standards has to include cost, access, and time.

If this gave you a new angle, subscribe, share it with someone who’d normally disagree, and leave a review so more people can find the show. What does “responsible eating” mean to you?

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