Or none at all. While I, personally, am trying to eat none, I will admit that it is a difficult habit to break. And not because I’m a big steak eater but because of two small things – hot dogs and bacon! I have a lot of baseball games to go to this time of year and there is always a hot dog vendor…I’m weak for a good old (gross, yes I know what’s in them) hot dog!
Bacon on a Sunday morning is my second failing. If my husband starts frying bacon with pancakes first thing on Sunday morning, I am out of bed and probably two pounds heavier. I’m also a sucker for a good BLT. But I digress.
I am trying to eat less meat. I rarely serve it as a main dinner dish anymore and we eat it less and less, but a Saturday BBQ with friends is hard to give up!
So, why eat less meat?
Well, aside from the health issues, which have been well-documented, according to Compassion in World Farming :
- “Factory farms pollute the neighbourhood with slurry run-off into nearby waterways and produce noxious gas emissions, contributing to climate change.
- Toxic ammonia fumes from factory farm sheds can affect farm workers’ health.
- Livestock production accounts for 18% of all (human-induced) greenhouse gases.
- It takes 100,000 litres of water to produce 1 kilo of beef, but only 500 litres of water to produce 1 kilo of potatoes. Water scarcity is a major global problem.
- Since the 1960’s approximately 200 millon hectares of tropical forest have been destroyed, mostly for cattle grazing and growing crops for animal feed.
- Overgrazing – keeping excessive numbers of grazing animals on the land – is contributing to a rapid increase in global desertification.”
In the same space required to grow the amount of beef necessary to feed one small family of four, a farm could grow diversified crops that could feed hundreds for the same length of time.
We are committed to trying to raise some of our own meat (chickens, lamb and pigs in some years) and to buy our meat from other farms like our own – highly diversified and not in the “meat business.”
Mostly, we’ve been eating a lot of veggies, rice, beans and pasta – which perfectly suits my frugal nature as well!
Lucy says:
Yes a tough habit to break, but you can start with veggie dogs. If you can’t stomach the thought then try having other fun food with out the meat like cheese pizza instead of the kind loaded with all the meat. Eating cheese pizza with lots of veggie toppings never makes me feel deprived when I’m trying to eat less meat. Now don’t get me wrong…I’m not suggesting that pizza is a healthy diet!
But when you decide to cut down on meat you’ll feel better about your participation on the environment!
Lucy
27th May 2008 at 3:18 pm