Reasons for Eating Less Meat

I was just perusing through my newest copy of Reader's Digest this morning, and I came this little excerpt titled "Animal Planet." It gave out some astounding facts, which, though probably weren't news, still amazed me.

1. 60 billion animals a year are raised for food, meaning 10 animals per person. If you think about it, Americans probably have more than 10 animals, because billions of people live in poverty and do not always have access to fresh meat.

2. Growing corn and eating is expends 2.2 calories for every 1 calorie of protein yielded. But take that corn through the manufacturing process to produce feed for livestock, and take into account everything else that the livestock consume throughout their life (electricity, water, transportation), and it takes 40 calories to get the same 1 calorie of protein.

3. Steak dinner for 4 people = driving in a SUV for four hours and at the same time leaving all the lights on at your house.

4. Average American meat eater produces per year 1.5 tons of greenhouse gas than a non-meat eater. Yikes!

So does everyone have to become a vegetarian? I don't believe so - it's all based on your beliefs and values. However, there are some changes we all can make to ease the above statistics. Maybe try eating one non-meat meal a day, or one non-meat day a week. Cut back on portions a little bit - 3 oz. is a serving according to the FDA, not that 20 0z. steak the restaurant served. Try out some substitutes such as tofu and bean burgers. When you eat meat, try to find local sources or companies that don't use added hormones and use humane practices.

The above image, from MSN, is of a steak that is 72 oz.! Craziness.

So, is anyone a vegetarian? What is your reason?

Milk Ice Cream

I saw this in Time magazine and just had to say something about it.

So PETA says to Ben and Jerry's (the ice cream maker) that they should use human breast milk to make ice cream instead of cow milk. Their argument is that it is even more absurd to drink the milk of another animal than our own species, and milking cows is cruel, etc. Yeah...I don't think this is going to happen any time soon.

However, the response of Ben and Jerry's was even more ridiculous. They replied, word for word, "We believe a mother's milk is best used for her child." Hello? They're not giving their ice cream to baby cows, are they? The company is directly contradicting itself. If a mother's milk is best used for her child, why is the ice cream company stealing it to manufacture a product for another species?

I don't have a problem with them using cow milk, but I do have a problem with their view of animals. Yes, cows are mothers too. They are not machines. I don't care about the argument whether people are animals etc, but the biological fact is that cows are mothers and they have babies. The end.

This image is from Will Work For Food.

Choose the Real White Meat

Though a vegetarian or vegan diet is best in terms of the impact it has on the environment, many people do not have the time, money, or desire for the huge lifestyle change. Therefore, the next best thing to do is to compare the different types of meat we commonly eat. Remember, unlike men, all meat are not created equal.

Let's think in terms of the amount of grain an animal must consume vs. the amount of meat the animal produces. According to BBC News, one cow requires at least 13 pounds of grain in order to make one pound of beef. Pigs need 6 pounds of grain to make one pound of pork. Chickens consume about 2 pounds of feed for each pound of meat. Fish, I believe, need a little less.

Let's say the standard serving of meat is 4 oz. per person (of course, nowadays the perception of portion sizes in blown out of proportion, with half-pound burgers and 12 oz. steaks). A family of four eats meat at two meals out of the day, meaning 28 meals a week. That's over 1400 pounds a year. Now, if the family chose chicken over beef each time, they would be saving over 16,000 pounds of grain annually!

Now multiply this number by the number of meat-consuming families in the world. It's an astronomical figure! We could do so much with this amount of food, including easing third world hunger.

Of course, this is the basic outline, but there are many other benefits.

Environmental

Less water used (beef requires the most, then pork, etc.)

Less fossil fuels used (again, cattle require the most equipment/trucks/shelter)

Less land degradation

Cost

Generally speaking, beef is the most expensive, then pork, then chicken (fish is the exception)

Health

Again, on average beef has the most saturated fat and cholesterol. Chicken and fish have many more health benefits.

If you just can't give up your meat, remember, fish> chicken > pork > beef. Obviously, there are many problems with the chicken and fish market (overfishing, anyone?), but this is a general guide you should use.

This image comes from http://www.aspencountry.com/