As a family we try to do one meal a week that is vegetarian. One it is good for us and two it is good for the environment. If it was up to my wife we would eat much less meat but I really like it and need the protein to keep me going. Here is an article that shows the impact meat and meat production has on our Earth.Read and think:
1) What part of your ecological footprint was taken up by food and meat especially?
2) How difficult of a change would it be to switch to a vegetarian diet completely? For you and for the world?
3) Why do we have this love for meat?
4) Could this be a win-win situation?
http://www.foodnavigator.com/Market-Trends/Eating-less-meat-and-dairy-key-to-UN-emissions-targets
This is my post for the week
ReplyDeleteWhen you think of eating meat sometimes it is associated with unhealthiness but it's not usually associated with being bad for the environment. Consumption of meat is reflected on our ecological footprint so strongly because of the factories and buildings that livestock, poultry etc are raised in produce so much greenhouse gas emissions and pollution that eating meat contributes to that. Another reason eating meat takes up so much of our ecological footprint is because of the land that cows, chickens and pigs etc take up and how much space as opposed to something like vegetation. Another reason meat takes up so much of our ecological footprint is because of the amount of meat that gets thrown out and is wasted. In my opinion making the change of eliminating meat would be very difficult because even though I don't eat a ton of meat it is nice to have steak or bacon once and a while or chicken with a caesar salad for example. Another issue could be going to restaurants and deciding what to order for example: McDonald's, there are not a lot of vegetarian options that seem appealing. For some of the world this may not seem like a hard change because they could already be vegetarian but in my opinion I bet lots of people agree eliminating meat would be very inconvenient. It could possibly be a win win situation because you would be eliminating the harmful chemicals given to the animals you're eating from your diet, and red meat sometimes is not the best for you, but it could also not work out as a good situation because meat contains protein and b12, and for some people eliminating meat you will not get the necessary amount of protein from other foods.
This link further explains the environmental impacts of meat production science.time.com/2013/12/16/the-triple-whopper-environmental-impact-of-global-meat-production/
Nice post Julia. I also think that eliminating meat in all people's diet is impossible. Although some people are vegetarian I have many friends that have low iron or just low protein levels in general and need protein for health reasons. Honestly, I think the way to lower people's carbon footprint is to avoid over consumption of meat. We need to provide more meat-free options as well as encourage people to explore different ways to obtain meat in their diet while enjoying the actual meat in moderation.
DeleteMy weekly post:
ReplyDeleteI found this article interesting because the environmentally-friendly aspect of vegetarianism seems to fall by the wayside when discussing of the benefits of having a meat-free diet. The amount of meat that North American's eat is absolutely ridiculous. Many people are able to ignore the brutality behind factory farming, because what happens behind the closed doors of a slaughterhouse seems to be of no consequence to people as long as they are able to enjoy their meat in peace. The environment, however, is something that hopefully most people can agree is worth paying attention to. I believe that not enough people know about the positive environmental impact it could have if we cut meat out of our diet or at least cut back.
I don't believe that the world could ever give up meat. This is not because I believe that it is physically impossible for each human to stop buying and consuming meat but simply out of cynicism towards humankind. People just love the taste of meat so much that they aren't willing to compromise despite the the positive impact that it would have on themselves and the world around them. In my opinion, this is a fairly weak excuse. Before becoming a vegetarian myself, I would have considered meat one of my all-time favourite foods but after further educating myself on the on the negatives effects of eating meat, I decided the cut it out of my diet completely. It was quite challenging at first, especially because I have low iron; meat was my favourite food and it was tough to give it up, however, is was possible. There are many other foods that provide iron besides meat and lots of vegetarian recipes that give you the nutrients that you need, taste good, and are generally healthier for you as opposed to meat.
Below I am posting an article about the many benefits of becoming a vegetarian:
http://www.vegetariantimes.com/article/why-go-veg-learn-about-becoming-a-vegetarian/
Great post Gabrielle! It's definitely tremendously interesting and informative to experience the perspective of someone who turned to vegetarianism after researching the negative impacts of consuming meat. I've been thinking of reducing my meat intake for a long time now and your post as well as the link you attached for sure has inspired me to work towards just that. Great job!
DeleteAlthough I do not agree with everything said, it is interesting to see from a vegetarian point of view. I respect the will-power it must have taken to give up meat as well.
DeleteThis is my weekly post;
ReplyDeleteFirst of all this kind of bothers me because meat is one of the last healthy choices we have in this world full of processed sugar and chemicals. I am aware that most people eat meat that is pumped with GMOs anyways but its still a better alternative to pasta and fried foods.
I love beef and chicken and basically any meat out there but i was not aware that it was one of the leading producers of green house gases in todays society. I feel that a great way to reduce these gases is to educate people on how or where to buy locally, even though it's a little time consuming it would help a lot.
I dont believe we should cut back our meat consumption because it's the food we were made to eat. Thousands of years of ago hunters and gatherers ate mostly meat and fresh produce if they could find it and they were healthy. No offence to those vegetarians and vegans out there but soy and tofu is not a meat substitute. Its man made and is just over all an unhealthy choice. Meat is a great source of protein, b12, iron, and fats that help humans sustain energy.
I don't believe i could give up meat entirely, though i have thought about it due to my love for animals. But, because of my belief that meat is essential to our diets i couldn't follow through. It's where i get most of my protein and healthy fats so i dont want to risk becoming sick or unhealthy. I'm not saying it would be impossible for me to cut out meat but i wouldnt do it by choice or for long periods of time. Plus its yummy. As for the world itself i dont believe we could completly stop eating meat because it's such a massive industry the economy would suffer greatly, animals such as chickens would over populate as they already are, and health in humans themselves would decrease especially for people living in developing or undeveloped countries. Those societies rely on meat because it's all they have, as well as crops of course. It also helps sustain their economy as many families use their farm's crops and livestock as their only source of income.
Here are some of the benefits of meat :) http://healthyeating.sfgate.com/ways-benefit-eating-meat-4357.html
Couldn't agree more. Meat is a very important part of the human diet. Good source too :)
DeleteThis is my week's post,
ReplyDeleteOne of the main reasons most people choose not to eat meat is because of the cruelty that some animals endure, behind that is probably for health reasons. It is strange to think that one of the worst bi-products of the meat industry is the ecological footprint. I noticed this first when I took the test to see what my ecological footprint was, and a large section of my pie chart was due to my consumption of meat and dairy products. This was eye opening, as was the article, because I never really consider the distance that food has to travel to get to my dinner plate, and the environmental impact that this has.
Personally, I do not think that it is in my, or the world's, best interest to switch to a vegetarian diet. I'm not going to get too far into it because people are very sensitive about their dietary beliefs, but I consider meat and dairy to be a very important part of my diet. I also believe that our bodies are meant to digest, and use, meat proteins and fats. There are articles that would disagree, but there are many that would back that up as well. I have researched both sides and made my own choice, and I respect that others have done the same, but the slight suggestion in the article that they kind of force people to change to vegetarian diets just seems to be a real restriction of freedom and could possibly have negative health effects. One of the main substitutes used in vegetarian and vegan diets is soy, and it can be considered one of the most genetically modified food in the world. I will link a source at the bottom for anyone to see some of the soy issues (yes I know other sources will surely disagree, particularly those written by vegans). Overall, I think a switch to vegetarianism is not the answer to the problem, and frankly would really make me angry.
The solution in my view, would be buying local. A lot of the time there is locally available meats and dairy products that can greatly reduce the amount of carbon emissions from transport. If local food was made more readily available in grocery stores etc. to the masses it could have a great effect in lowering the ecological footprint caused by our diet. Also it would just be a piece of mind for those vegetarians who are doing it for ethical reasons if they are able to see where the meat is coming from and how it may be treated. I think that is a much more realistic goal than converting the world to a vegetarian diet. Which not to mention would require large amounts of crops to make up for the lost nutrients from meat, that would then probably require the shipping of crops such as soy etc. This would not fix the problem, but only keep it the same without the meat that our bodies need.
http://www.foodrenegade.com/dangers-of-soy/