We’ve all heard of the wonderful things that a plant-based diet can do for your health, your wallet and the planet. But we get it how hard it is to swap a juicy burger or steak for pulverized soybeans. So until lab-grown meat becomes a viable and affordable alternative, eating animals and animal products involves a (tasty) side of guilt.
The good news is many Americans have cut back on consuming meat, and many others want to eat less. Still, there’s a long way to go. The fact is, Americans eat more meat than every other population on the planet.
But there’s no need to go cold turkey and become a vegetarian or vegan. Taking baby steps can make a big difference. The environmental magazine Ensia recently gave some tips about eating more sustainably, including:
1. Practice Meatless Mondays
Studies show that if every American eliminated meat for a single night a week, it would be the same as removing 30 to 40 million cars from the roads for a year. We previously reported that the Meatless Mondays initiative (which has the aim of reducing global meat consumption by 15 percent) was recently adopted by a whopping 57,000 students enrolled in Boston’s 128 public schools.
2. Do the “species switch-out”
We’ve said before that red meat is one of the primary sources of human-induced methane (a by-product of manure), which is more than 20 times more toxic than carbon dioxide. So the next time you’re thinking of meal ideas, choose chicken, turkey or pork instead of beef or lamb. As Ensia writes, “it takes far less grain (and therefore cropland) to produce a pound of pig or poultry than to produce a pound of cow.”
3. Choose local, sustainable or organic meat
Unfortunately, most of the animal products that are available in our grocery stores or restaurants come from factory farms, which are environmental nightmares. If you are craving a burger or a steak, use your dollars to support small farmers who care more for animal welfare and specialize in pasture-raised meats. You could also choose from a wide variety of sustainable seafood. Yes, it’s more expensive but you’re saving money from eating less meat during the week.
And here are some ideas from us…
4. Help yourself to more side dishes
Meat doesn’t have to be the star of your meal. It’s recommended for health reasons that we shouldn’t eat a serving of chicken or steak that’s larger than a deck of cards, so fill up your plate with fruits, vegetables and whole grains instead. You can also bulk up your burger patty with plant proteins such as mushrooms, black beans and veggies.
5. Try a diet that lets you cheat
We get that eating is a social activity. If you want some sliders or buffalo wings during happy hour, go for it but make sure you don’t eat any meat before then. That’s the idea behind Mark Bittman’s “Vegan Before 6” diet, which is exactly what it sounds like. Instead of going fully vegan or vegetarian, “this [diet] easier because every day you get your meal that is completely satisfying to you,” the New York Times food writer said in an interview. There’s also the newfangled Flexitarian diet (a portmanteau of “flexible” and “vegetarian”) which has a similar idea: a plant-heavy diet that allows you to indulge in meat once in awhile.
6. Use meat as a condiment or flavoring
It’s been said that the reason why we like the taste of meat or animal products so much is because of umami, which the Japanese term for a pleasant, savory taste. Instead of going full hog, add notes of this delicious element to pasta or vegetable dishes (such as little bits of cured meats or a splash of chicken or fish stock) to bring out those carnivorous flavors.
7. Go global
U.S. News and World Report released a list of the top 10 plant-based diets, and the Mediterranean diet and the Asian diet were first and fourth on the list, respectively. These cuisines (think traditional Greek, Italian, Vietnamese, Thai, etc.) rely more on fresh herbs, fruits and vegetables and fish, unlike typical American fare that’s heavy on red or processed meats. CNN compiled a list of the 10 healthiest ethnic cuisines and suggested dishes that are not only healthy and flavorsome, but that also don’t feature much food that used to have a heartbeat.
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Tag: meat industry
This Startup is Producing Beef and Leather Without Harming a Single Cow
It’s a problem any socially conscious meat-lover has — that delicious slab of beef we sometimes call dinner was once a living, breathing, mooing animal. Not only that, but the meat industry is also incredibly harmful to the environment.
We previously reported that America’s love affair with meat is responsible for 14.5 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions — more than all forms of transportation combined. But what if a flavorful serving of protein were guilt-free?
MORE: Want to Help Save the Planet? Take This Pledge to Eat Less Meat
As the Wall Street Journal reports, Brooklyn, New York-based startup Modern Meadow Inc. can grow meat and leather in their lab — all without killing a single animal. The company uses 3-D printers (check out the process in the video below) and a process called “biofabrication” to produce meat and leather in the lab with cells taken from animals via a noninvasive biopsy.
And while large-scale production of meat is a ways off, printing leather is already a reality. According to 3Dprint.com, it takes Modern Meadow about 45 days to create one square foot of leather, versus the two-to-three years it takes to raise, feed and shelter an animal.
Sounds like a noble mission to us. After all, the $91.2 billion global leather industry doesn’t just mean a lot of dead animals; its chemical-based dyes, acids, and treatments can be a health hazard and an environmental nightmare, too.
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Modern Meadow CEO and founder Andras told the WSJ that his company is trying to make its leather as affordable as what’s already available on the market, but at even higher quality (no nicks and scars). He’s also finding ways to process the man-made leather without using water and chemicals.
“With the livestock industry being the largest user of land and water and the leading driver of climate change, now is the time to pursue better alternatives,” Forgacs said in a press release. “Our goal is to develop new cultured leather materials with advantages in design, performance, sustainability, and animal welfare. In the longer term, we are also developing meat products that are healthier, safer, and don’t require harming animals or the environment.”
This all sounds pretty sci-fi, huh? While we probably won’t see lab-grown meat sold alongside flank steak at the local butcher anytime soon, it appears the company’s vision is getting closer to reality. Modern Meadow recently received a huge $10 million investment from Hong Kong billionaire investor Li Ka-shing that will help accelerate research and development and expand its facilities.
Would you buy lab-grown meat or leather?
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Want to Help Save the Planet? Take This Pledge to Eat Less Meat
America: The country where people are applauded for eating a 72-ounce steak in one sitting. The country where, in the name of competition, people wolf down 79 hot dogs in 10 minutes. The country that celebrates a national holiday by cooking a 20-pound bird that no one ever finishes.
There’s no denying that a steak is delicious. And it’s certainly okay by us to indulge during Thanksgiving. But it’s a fact that Americans are over-proteined. We eat more meat than nearly every other population on the planet. And even though the American Heart Association recommends eating less than six ounces per day of meat, many of us eat double that amount — putting us at a much higher risk for cardiovascular disease.
But not only does eating too much meat takes a toll on the body, it’s also bad for the planet. Did you know that meat production is responsible for 14.5 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions — more than all forms of transportation combined? Or that wild animals such as wolves, elk and prairie dogs are threatened because we eat so much meat?
That’s why the Center for Biological Diversity has launched a new campaign called Take Extinction Off Your Plate that urges the public to eat less meat in order to save wildlife, habitats, water resources, air quality and the climate.
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According to the organization, if Americans eliminated meat for a single night a week, that’s the same as taking 30 to 40 million cars off the road for a year. If we reduced our meat consumption by one-third, it would have the greenhouse gas equivalent of driving 2,700 fewer miles and saving 340,667 gallons of water per year. The good news is that meat consumption is already down — we’re wising up about how unhealthy it is to eat so much, and we are buying less due to rising beef, poultry and pork prices, the New York Times reports.
For anyone interested in taking the pledge, you can sign up here. And in the meantime, does anyone feel like loading up on some broccoli?