What's Eyeball Soup?

I've been a vegetarian for 26 years. I've never tried to convert anyone and I don't plan to start here. I want to write a book called Eyeball Soup to answer some nagging questions - for myself as much as anyone - about whether eating meat is a good idea.

You'd think I'd know by now. But new issues have arisen, particularly in relation to the environment, and the survival of the human race. Some people argue that eating meat wastes water, destroys forests and contributes to climate change. Others say it's possible to raise animals in such a way that neither beats nor planet suffers.

The health and ethical aspects are worth a fresh look too. Because I have no medical background, I've begun interviewing health professionals to hear the good and bad about eating meat. I ask whether hormones in chicken cause girls to menstruate early, whether vegetarian have a lower incidence of heart disease, whether you can get enough iron and calcium on a vegan diet, and if vegetarians live longer. I have a mountain of books beside my bed on the loftier aspects of eating meat, so that I can put together a pared-down summation of what some of the world's larger brains have to say on the topic, for and against.

In the past few years there have been many newspaper and magazine articles about the economics of feeding the world. The cost of food is rising, availability is decreasing, many field that were once used to grow food have been given over to crops for animals, or corn for ethanol-based fuel. Are we using the world's arable land in an economically intelligent and responsible way.

For the record, I respect the right of each person to make their own choice about what they eat. In my own home, I'm the only vegetarian. My husband eats anything put on a plate. My youngest son consumes a couple of farmyard creatures per month. And if, while watching television with my older son, I wonder aloud if I can do a meatless version of one of Jamie Oliver's meals (almost universally, no), he begs me to make it 'properly'. I buy meat and cook meat but never eat meat. That's my choice but I know of vegan households where leather, honey and jelly are banned for young and old. I also have a dear friend whose husband insists that something die for every meal. And a friend who describe her diet, which includes white meat, as 'vegetarian lite'.

It's a personal decision, but one that has an enormous impact on people around you, and on the globe. I hope that if people are weighing up the pros and cons, or wondering if they have all the information, a book like this might help.

And the working title? Many years ago, when I was travelling in Istanbul, my partner and I, desperately hungry, ventured up a set of narrow wooden stairs to a dark restaurant that was as exotic and authentic as we could possibly have hoped for. The walls were covered in luxe fabric, the carpet was a thick and complicated mix of rich reds, blues and golds, the staff were kohl-eyed and flaxen-haired. But we quickly realised we'd walked into a restaurant famed for its soups - soups made from every type of creature that submitted to go belly-up for human dining pleasure. After struggling to communicate our wish for a soup that contained no meat, our waiter nodded in understanding. He had just the thing. He returned with a selection of eyeballs in broth, which surely no one would consider as meat. I respect this as an experience that taught me a lot about culture, context, language, and the curious interaction between man and beast.