SUSTAINABILITY: One Bite at a Time, Part II

The Meat Question: Carnivore? Moderate Meat Eater? Vegetarian? Vegan?...confused? let me break it down for you.

The Facts:

The amount of US Grain fed to animals: 70%

Pounds of corn and soy to produce just 1lb. of pork: 7 lbs.

Water needed to produce 1 lb. of wheat: 14 gallons

Water needed to produce 1 lb. of meat: 441 gallons

Of all water used for all purposes in the United States more than ½ goes to livestock production

Now that you have some of the facts about meat production in the United States it is easy to see that the amount of water, energy, and grain used to produce livestock to provide for meat-heavy diets is by far greater than that which is required to subsist on a vegetarian diet. The meat-heavy diet that has come to define the American dinner table is harmful to the planet in its fossil fuel dependence, pollution, use of land, water, and grain, contribution to global warming. A meat-moderate diet or vegetarian/vegan diet is better for you as well as the environment. Eliminating the high fat content of corn fed beef in one’s diet can decrease the risk for obesity and diseases like diabetes and heart disease.

My key word in regards to diet is moderation. You can enjoy the occasional meat item and still lead a more sustainable life. The bulk of a person’s diet should focus on fruits veggies and grains and minimal meat and animal products. If you do eat meat, eat grass fed, pasture raised meat and animal products like milk and cheese and eggs. Make wiser choices regarding what meat to eat; eat less beef, more poultry, and try to phase out meat consumption to twice or three times a week, and then work your way down to a vegetarian or as close to that as you can. I started my own personal sustainable eating journey indulging in meat twice or three times a week, and after a week or so of adjustment I found it relatively painless (and as a matter of fact , entirely enjoyable) to reduce my meat consumption to ZERO! Just try it; it’s not all that impossible I promise. And remember my motto; moderation. You can enjoy meat and other big ticket unsustainable food items, just do so sparingly!

Less is More: Processing and Packaging

When it comes to both processing and packaging in regards to food, less is most definitely more. Processing entails cooking, freezing, preserving, canning, etc. food and requires much more energy and fossil fuel waste and thus a greater negative environmental impact than if you were to pluck an apple off a tree and bite into it. Packaging often goes hand in hand with processing food. When food is transported all over the country (and world too!) to get to your cupboard, it is stored in cardboard boxes and plastic containers and bags. This packaging represents a lot of unnecessary waste that ends up in a landfill somewhere when we indulge in Costco packages of fun-sized snacks and vacuum-packed veggies. Processing and packaging are symbols of the industrial food complex and its unsustainable practices. Eliminate the negative environmental impact of the industrial food complex by reducing your consumption of pre-processed and packaged foods, with a focus on fresh and local food avoiding the two p’s is easy!