March 24 – Meat Free Week

nPostednon March 24, 2014

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nSomenpeople are vegetarians and never eat meat, ever. There are severalnreasons people might be meat-free: some practice a religion thatndemands a no-meat diet; some avoid eating meat because they hate thenway in which animals are raised and slaughtered by the meat industry,nor they simply will not eat a once-living animal; some believe thatnmeat-free is healthier, at least for them; and some are thoughtfulnabout the impact that the meat industry has on the environment.

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nThenenvironment? n

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nYep.nEating less meat helps the environment. Because the plant foods thatncan be grown on an acre of land feed more people than can the meatnfrom livestock grown on that acre of land, reducing meat consumptionncould result in having fewer hungry people in the world. Also,nproducing a pound of meat doesn’t just take more land than producingna pound of plant crops—it also takes more energy and water, andnproduces more pollutants!

Can you believe that it takes more than six pounds of plant foods
to make just one quarter-pound burger? And check out how much
water, land, and energy it takes to make that one measly burger!

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nEatingnmeat even adds to global warming. The United Nations has shown thatnthe world’s livestock is responsible for 18% of greenhouse gasnemissions!

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nInpersonally am not a vegetarian. I know that there are some nutrientsnthat are easier to get from meat than from plants, and I don’t wantnto become a difficult guest. But I often eat “low on the foodnchain” – which means that, many days or many meals, I choose toneat plants rather than meat – for many of the environmental,nanimal-rights, and health reasons listed above. In other words, I’m anpart-time vegetarian and only a some-time carnivore.

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nItncan be very interesting to change your diet for a while and see hownyou like a new way of eating—and what better time to try anvegetarian diet than Meat Free Week?