BE OPEN-MINDED ABOUT FRIENDS & RELATIONSHIPS

It’s becoming more common for people to end friendships or avoid being around those who hold different opinions, but Emma says it’s important to talk rather than shut people out

My immediate family is plant-based. We would love for everyone to stop eating meat, but we don’t judge those who do. That’s why I was surprised by new research, which found that 38 per cent of vegans and vegetarians will only date someone who follows the same diet as them, and over half of millennial vegans and veggies wouldn’t invite a meat eater to a social occasion.

DON’T JUDGE OTHERS

When I met my husband, he was a meat eater who felt there was no way he would ever change. His kindness is unending and his generosity of spirit changed my own and my children’s lives for the better. If I hadn’t been open to him because of his eating habits, my life would have been less happy. Over time, as he saw the way my family talked about and treated animals, he decided he would never touch an animal product again. My son’s girlfriend has also become vegetarian, not through force, but because when you are around animal lovers, you find yourself seeing the world differently.

SHARE YOUR WORLD

Meat eaters aren’t unworthy or unkind, they just see the world slightly differently. We can all learn from each other when we allow people into our lives. The same can be said for every situation where people have different opinions. I have Hindu, Muslim and Christian friends, and we disagree on theological levels, but we all accept and respect one another. Since the beginning of time, humans have thrived because we think differently – it’s the mother of invention, creativity and new philosophies.

LEARN FROM PEOPLE

If you don’t acknowledge other people’s perspectives, you live in an echo chamber and you simply won’t develop and grow as a person. Instead of seeing the world through one lens, it is far braver and better to allow yourself the technicolour that life offers when you accept and respect other people’s points of view. You are more likely to educate and, in turn, learn from others by leaving your door open to people who make different choices to you.