Silverstone struggled with childhood vegetarianism

Famous vegetarian Alicia Silverstone first gave up eating meat when she was eight but was too young to go completely veggie.

The big screen's one-time Batgirl admits it took years for her to become a devoted non-meat eater.

She explained: "I didn't grow up on vegetarian food. I ate the same things that everyone else did.

"There were times when I would get selfish and eat meat - at eight years old it's hard to stick to your guns - and so through the years I was always starting and stopping trying to be a vegetarian."

It was a stint spent saving dogs from experimentation that turned the actress against meat for good.

She explained: "I started thinking, 'Why am I saving one animal and still eating steak? How can I love these creatures so much... and keep eating meat?' Ultimately I thought that if I wasn't ready to eat a dog, I shouldn't be eating meat at all."