How can all of us reduce meat consumption?

[inkabinkaboo182]

Eating meat is one of the worst things to do, when talking about the environment. At best, meat takes acres and acres of grass to raise and a small distance to ship. At worst, it causes Amazonian deforestation and pounds of grain to raise one pound of meat, and it is shipped across thousands of miles.

Personally, though, I'm having trouble giving up meat and animal products. They became such a central part of my diet before I was an environmentalist that I have trouble not eating them. Thankfully, I've been able to give up beef and pork, but turkey and chicken are still central to my diet.

So, for those of us not quite ready to become vegetarians/ vegans, what can we do to (dramatically) reduce our meat consumption, or at least make it have less of an impact?

Here are a few of my ideas, but I'd like to hear some of yours:

-Avoid fast food at all costs.
-If you eat meat, make it local/ organic.
-Try to make meat more of a side dish, rather than the main part of your meal.

[lh_newbie]

I don't eat cat food. LOL!

Seriously, don't push your anti-meat agenda on me. I like meat and will eat it accordingly. Your posts have constantly chipped away at my patience. If you chose to be a vegan - cool - great for you. I enjoy my chicken and fish and beef and pork.

My wife has a cat, and guess what? They're carnivores. I'm sure meat is in his cat food. Oh well. I'm only willing to go so far.

Brian

PS: Breathing causes lung cancer. Please stop breathing.

[belandil]

Eating meat is one of the worst things to do...

You're right that it's hard to give up. Right now I'm an "economic vegetarian" meaning I don't buy a lot of meat since it's expensive! That being said, I'm sure I eat meat at least four times per week.

One thing to is eat less beef. Cattle are larger animals and take longer to grow, meaning each pound of beef takes more feed than producing a pound of chicken. Substituting poultry can make a difference.

My wife and I eat turkey bacon and make hamburgers out of ground turkey. It's a little bit more healthy as well.

lh_newbie, your post is counterproductive. If you don't agree with the original poster, just go to a different post.

[inkabinkaboo182]

lhnewbie - what's your problem? Just ignore me if you don't like what I say.

Personally, I don't like you pushing your pro-meat agenda on me. I'm not even a vegetarian, but at least I can acknowledge the fact that meat is bad for the environment, and I can try to do something about that in my life.

If you had read anything other than my username, you would have realized that.

[hillsidedigger]

Market and natural forces will soon render meat very scarce in survivor's diets.

[greenhammer]

I'm almost completely switched over to a vegetarian diet now, mainly due to the ethical issues but also due to the environmental concerns. I don't know that I'll ever completely eliminate it, but I feel great just having cut down as much as I have.

I would suggest exploring more vegetarian cuisine. I can't tell you how many great recipes I've come across that make me forget meat ever existed. Also, meat-free alternatives like Gardein and Tofurkey can help a lot, and some of them (like the Gardein) taste even better than meat does.

And try to keep in mind that there's almost no "healthy" meat you can eat whose protein and other benefits can't be found in other non-animal foods. It's not even just ethics and the environment, it's also health.

[organgrinder]

lh_newbie...what's for dinner tonight? I'm wavering between T-bone and Prime Rib.

[inkabinkaboo182]

Just so you know - a few months after going on a meat reducing diet, my mom's cholesterol has dropped over 40 points.

Also, I have found some great vegetarian recipes, mainly in the Moosewood cookbooks. My few favorite meals are from that book. It's great.

[dink]

I really like Porterhouse steaks......I also love McDonalds Cheeseburgers.....veggie burgers are nasty

[CarolinaJim]

This is always a oil and water topic. Over at Prius Chat over 200 posts were made with over 6,000 views. You may find the thread interesting.

http://priuschat.com/forums/environment ... nough.html

[stephh]

You might find that lowering your fat intake and raising your fiber content just naturally lowers your craving for meat. Eat lots of veggies for lunch, and a fruit snack (like processed dates & nuts) in the afternoon, and that might make a meatless dinner more appealing!

Stephanie
Nutrition-Solution.Net

[lh_newbie]

lhnewbie - what's your problem? Just ignore me if you don't like what I say.

Personally, I don't like you pushing your pro-meat agenda on me. I'm not even a vegetarian, but at least I can acknowledge the fact that meat is bad for the environment, and I can try to do something about that in my life.

If you had read anything other than my username, you would have realized that.

I'm just having fun with you now. I get a kick out of people that decide something is right for them, then think they need to convince everyone else that their idea is the best. It's actually quite humorous.

I wonder if God realized that cows are evil and will destroy the world. Also, look at Hillsidedigger and his "survivor diet" comments. This web site is absolutely classic! Anyone that had preconceived notions of what environmentalists are like just need to come here to get absolute confirmation.

Look - I'm all for efficiency. I'm all for people that want to be vegetarian. That's cool. Just don't push it on me.

Someone has to come on this board and provide atleast a glimpse into the real world.

Brian

[ChocolateBikes]

I converted to vegetarianism last year, and I haven't looked back! What has helped me the most is replacing meat with soy protein. There are a lot of soy protein products out there that look, smell and taste like meat. They are also easy to cook with and work into your everyday routine. They really have helped me when I get a craving for it!

I hope this helps, and good luck with it!

[spring]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIjanhKqVC4

http://www.farmsanctuary.org/issues/fac ... ming/beef/

http://www.fastfoodnationthemovie.co.uk/

http://www.ucsusa.org/food_and_environment/


that should do it

[spring]

... p.s. anyone who can eat fast food after watching 'ff nation' should not be considered a homo sapiens.