As a scientist, I did a self-experiment to compare a vegan diet with eating meat. Here’s what I found out

Eric Robinson: ‘I didn’t have grant funding to conduct the gold standard of a large randomised control trial, but I did have the time to conduct a study on myself.’ Photograph: Eric Robinson

Three years ago, I was briefly dating a primary school teacher who happened to be a part-time animal rights activist. The experience made me take a decision I’ve been living with ever since: veganism. Things didn’t work out with the primary school teacher, but my initial commitment to veganism did last.

At times, I’ve wondered if I’m depriving myself of great pleasure or, as some studies have suggested, even risking my mental health. So, as a scientist, last year I concluded that I finally needed to study what effect this decision was having on me, and decide whether I should stick to veganism for life or give it up.