I love meat!

[BluecollarZA]

I have a bit of a dilemma - I really love red meat, and I live in South Africa where the "braai" (aka barbeque) is our national pastime, pretty much.

Although I have ethical and environmental issues with eating meat (red meat in particular), I just can't make myself quit. Bacon's the biggest problem... I'll not eat meat for a while and then just smell some bacon cooking, with inevitable results.

Can anybody recommend strategies to reduce (and eventually eliminate) meat in my diet? How about some tasty vegetarian recipes/meat substitutes etc.?

Thanks!

Blue

[JiltedCitizen]

Why quit? Just reduce, or make sure you eat organically grown meat.

[acd150]

Just reduce -- that way when you do have meat it tastes even better --- UMMMMMMM.

[mybarnconversion]

Make sure that the meat you eat comes from animals that have been ethically treated and had a good life in humane and fair conditions. Often that means organic, but not necessarily. Happily, this is also often the tastiest meat you'll find, so in a way everyone involved is a winner!

[jchret]

I'm not sure how relevant this is, but you should find out where you're meat comes from, and buy as local as possible, to cut down on pollution that results from the transportation of the meat.

[BluecollarZA]

Thanks for the replies all. I must say, the thought of cutting down instead of cutting it out entirely is a lotmore appealing.

[eugene]

One has to be careful to not confuse the issue, there is nothing wrong with eating meat, its the large farms which modify the meat through hormones and chemicals that we don't want. My parents live on a small family farm in WV and raise beef cattle so we get meat each year from a cow that has been on pasture and never given any hormones and never trucked to a butcher shop which is the proper way to do it. Going Vegan doesn't make you any better if you buy all your vegetables at walamrt which came trucked in from large factories which add artifical color and flavor to their over fetilized and chemical treated plants made from genetically modified seeds.

[CrunchyCapitalist]

I agree, you don't need to give up meat. I'm vegan, but only because I don't have any contacts with local farms here, and I refuse to buy meat unless I meet it.

So, go get to know your food. Find out where it comes from, look up some farms in your area, go out there and have a look. Eating meat is only bad when it's factory meat, raised inhumanely, pumped full or crap, etc. Bad not only for the environment, the animals, but also your health.

[vespax]

BlueCollarZA,

Depending where you live you have some good options in ZA.

I live in Cape Town, so there are some decent organic markets in the city that one can shop at, but these are mostly non-meat products.

Woolworths, you should know them , has the majority of their chicken and beef products as free range. I haven't really noticed free range pork in their stores, but I will pressure them for it next time I speak with them. (BTW- I wish their supply of organic low fat milk was more constant, as it is hit and miss in Constantia Village lately)

If you live out in the rural areas, you can more than likely find a farmer that will accommadate your meat needs. I was visiting Prince Alfred Hamlet in the WC last year and we stumbled upon a dairy that was supplying the local residents with fresh cream, cheese(?) and milk straight from their own cows.

South Africa doesn't have the Whole Foods and Trader Joe's of America, but we do have some options here, and more are likely to continue coming to the wider market.

Oh, and who can give up some nice boerwors on the braai every once in a while? My favorite.

[elgatitoandaluz]

1st find out what happens to animals slaughtered in westerner world (in the worse case). For example u could disgust urself watching the docu: "earthlings" (not recommended for very sensitive people, it is serious)
2nd once u are disgusted, you will be motivated enough to find out the origin of ur meals, and stick to the practice

hope it helps
dr.nono

[Tripstop]

I love my meat..all types except pig [just a little close to us for comfort I think and if ever bird flue morphs it will be thru a pig] though I admit to eating bacon and ham at times....if humans never ate meat in the first place we would still probably be 'swinging in the trees' as our brains probably wouldnt have grown when we evolved many millions of years ago..and if somehow, magicly all the humans went vego then there would be mass starvation as meat is the best way to get heaps of goodies the human body need and evolved...going veg is not all good..are all aware of the massive forest destruction just to clear and grow soy?

I have a bit of a dilemma - I really love red meat, and I live in South Africa where the "braai" (aka barbeque) is our national pastime, pretty much.

Although I have ethical and environmental issues with eating meat (red meat in particular), I just can't make myself quit. Bacon's the biggest problem... I'll not eat meat for a while and then just smell some bacon cooking, with inevitable results.

Can anybody recommend strategies to reduce (and eventually eliminate) meat in my diet? How about some tasty vegetarian recipes/meat substitutes etc.?

Thanks!

Blue

[James]

are all aware of the massive forest destruction just to clear and grow soy?

Most of it to feed cows, pigs, and chickens. Very little of it actually is eaten by humans.

[Tripstop]

which Humans eat

are all aware of the massive forest destruction just to clear and grow soy?

Most of it to feed cows, pigs, and chickens. Very little of it actually is eaten by humans.

[James]

I don't remember exact figures, but the basic logic is the same.

Something like 80% of soy grown is used in animal feed. For about every 5 pounds of food, a cow yeilds 1 pound of meat. Energy is lost as the cow goes about what limited life it is allowed to have.

Since animal feed is of lower quality than human food, perhaps half of the soy put into a cow would be the final processed food. Thats STILL 2.5x more food if you eat producers rather than consumers.

Very few human eat, or have ever eaten as much meat as modern western countries do. You ate meat on sundays IF you were lucky. And most diets in developing countries have much more rice, lentals, soy, and beans than meat. They survive, if they can get enough of those (not being eaten by cows to feed us). I have no idea about the whole evolution thing, and if it is more than speculation, I would be happy to read about it (link?)


I am also SURE that, even on a 1:1 basis, the extra fuel, pestacides, fertalizers, water, and land prove meat to be more demanding on the earth and veg, as it goes through an extra stage of production.

I'm not actually even a vegatarian. I just try to keep it at a lower level than most people. I support your right to eat meat, just pointing out a fatal flaw in your argument.

[elgatitoandaluz]

i liked ur point...and u mentioned about evolution. I was digging a few years ago about exactly that. What was the impact of eating meat in human evolution? unfortunately i didnt find nothing quite sound scientific. That doesnt mean there isnt any, but "proofs" in evolutionary theory are very complicated due to the few samples available. But if somebody has a link or a reference to a book please pass it over, we will devour it to check if our brain grows.
regards
dr.nono