Eating used to be so simple. If you liked it and could afford it, down the hatch it went. Yum-yum, end of story.

But the days of carefree consumption of food, alas, are a thing of the past, especially for meat lovers.

If nonstop -- and contradictory -- pronouncements by doctors in white smocks as to what you should or shouldn't ingest don't spoil your appetite, dire warnings about the ruinous impact of your favourite dish on the environment or the climate probably will.