Scenario: Somehow it had never occurred to her. She'd grown up liking animals. At home they'd kept goldfish and at different times had Gruftie a terrier dog and a black cat called Magic. But they had always eaten meat. She couldn't remember anyone remarking on it as special. It had just been there in the bacon, the corn beef hash, the chicken masala, the turkey burgers, the pork or lamb chops, the mince meat, the steak and the sausage. So had fish and chips, salmon, prawn cocktail, tuna sandwiches and sardines. Now, she suddenly wasn't sure. First an uncle whom she hadn't seen for a long time had been to visit last weekend; her mum had been embarrassed when he'd said he was a vegetarian just before Sunday lunch. Then on Monday night she'd seen a TV programme in which this Buddhist person had said that by eating fish or animals we might be eating former human beings. Previously, she’d thought that not eating meat was a matter of taste or just a health fad. Could it be that something she had taken for granted for so long is just wrong?

Prince: You've nothing to worry about on this score. Christianity is against cruelty to animals. Like people, they are God's creatures. But it's stated very clearly in the first book of the Bible that Adam and Eve are central to creation, and that God has given them the world of nature to manage and control for their own benefit. That picture story has been central to Jewish, Christian and Muslim thinking ever since. As human beings, we are specially privileged. Though we aren't at liberty to exploit animals in whatever ways we choose, irrespective of any suffering they may experience, we can use them for our benefit. That does mean we can have them as pets, we can train them to work for us, and we can breed and nurture them to help with developing medicines and for food. But we've got to look after them properly. There's no justification for factory farming. Hunting is a tricky one since sometimes animals can suffer. However, there may be too many birds or animals of a particular kind, or a major threat from the predator to other livestock. In such cases, provided the killing is humanely carried out, it's ok. Rabbit or pheasant, like venison, can be very tasty - and part of a healthy diet!

Free Floater: Animals were born free, but everywhere are in chains! It's not just humans who are oppressed by people trying to control them, it's animals as well. In fact many animals are worse off. They're controlled in zoos, with food and shelter till they die, but no natural environment to move around in. Or they're controlled on farms, fenced in fields, penned inside sheds, and squashed in cages. If that's all done so I can eat meat, I won't. It's not difficult to find other ingredients that give me a balanced diet. It would be if I felt the same about fish and eggs, but I don't. Most eggs wouldn't hatch anyway and fish don't really have the same level of consciousness as animals. I'm not saying that if someone offers me a meal with meat in it I won't eat it, but it wouldn't be my first choice. I like animals. Sometimes they can be a lot more responsive than humans.

Sceptic Hank: There's a lot of rubbish talked about vegetarianism and animal rights. It overlooks two things. Firstly, nature as Darwin said is "red in tooth and claw". It is the law of life than we depend on other creatures for our survival. Big bugs eat little bugs and so it goes on through fish and birds and animals, right up to humans. Deny the bird its worm and all life collapses. Secondly, most animals wouldn't exist unless being reared for meat. Unless you think it's better that they never did or do exist, or you can find some other way of paying for their being tended and fed, meat eating is actually in their interest. Thirdly, there's enough to do in the world to achieve human rights for all without this kind of distraction. Even so, I would take issue with some of the practices promoted by agribusiness. In pursuit of 'economies of scale', 'greater milk yield', 'higher protein density' farmers have sometimes been prepared to take risks with steroids and animal feed that are damaging to both animals and humans. In its own way, that's just another example of pursuing self-interest as part of playing the survival game. Humans may have the capacity to recognise what's going on and change it. I doubt they ever will.

Luvalot: Gosh this is difficult. I like the story of God's rainbow covenant with Noah after the flood. It's different from the other covenants in the Old Testament, because it is not just with Israel, or humankind generally, but with every living being (Genesis 9:12-17). For me that conveys a sense of organic interdependence of all with God. Whether or not there ever was a time when humans were herbivores, in the Bible and Christian tradition generally we have been carnivores, and this has not been judged as morally wrong. Right now, however, I can see that eating meat may be contributing to the imbalance between the western developed world and the third world. More in the west are overweight. Animals being reared for food are being fed richer diets than over half of the world's population. On both health and humanitarian grounds, there's a strong case for becoming vegetarian. If we choose not, I think I owe it to my faith to become much more aware of the limited amount of protein I need for a 'healthy' diet and of the conditions in which animals and fish are farmed. In anticipation of the food on my plate, I may also find renewed meaning in the thankfulness of saying grace.