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I read this article today and it made me want to go back to being a vegetarian. I was one for 7 years, but now I eat poultry. It is really sad that humans don't have enough food in certain places, and we throw away a lot in feeding animals. I'm torn between wanting to feed animals and wanting to feed humans!

Commit to locally-produced grass-fed meat before it becomes impossible... Heard a recent radio doc on CBC how all the local slaughterhouses on Vancouver Island are disappearing due to government regulation, and it is becoming less viable to be locally self-sufficient.

Here in Europe, there is increasing awareness that animals fed on corn and soy produce meat which is too high in omega-6 fat, and too low in omega-3; apparently the grasses are high in omega-3 (flax being a large constituent).

If you eat much better quality meat, which costs more, you will naturally consume less.

you don't have to choose between being a vegetarian and eating meat at every meal, though. i have a "low-meat" diet--i eat some chicken or turkey every other day or so, but i will often pump up vegetarian dishes with a little bacon or chicken stock. and i'll have a steak or a burger at a restaurant every now and then.

i don't know if that's a good solution, but i find it works for me.

In my opinion,

In order to make a real difference, we have to change American culture.

It's interesting to look at the food cultures of countries that we consider to be poor. Mexico, India, Vietnam, China, Iran for instance. These cuisines happen to be among my favorite to eat. What's interesting to me is that a poor family from one of these places will take a pound of beef or other meat and create a multi-dimensional dish for an entire family. Why? Because they are poor? They cannot afford a giant piece of meat for the family? I don't know. All I know is that through the use of spice blends, fresh herbs, vegetables, rice, noodles, broths, chili peppers, citrus and so on, meat becomes secondary and flavors and textures are more important. And what's more important, is that the family is fed and fed well and fed together.

But I digress.

Americans want more for cheap. We will not stop this quest until something breaks. Even when it breaks, we don't stop, we just try to mend it or throw water on the fire. Broken ozone, broken waistlines, broken economies, broken families, broken borders, broken values.

People are not dependent on cheap meat. They have just been led in the wrong direction and they have become permanently disoriented. As long as there is a meat lover's pizza in every little hamlet, don't fear, you know you're in America. And TGIF! There will be a $10.99 three course meal waiting for you with a 10 oz. mechanically tenderized off-cut of holstein as your main course! Remember, it's not quality, it's quantity! (more bang for the buck!)

Too add on to Art's comment about food cultures of other countries: I can only speak for Vietnam & China because my family is from both countries. When an animal gave its life to feed us, we used EVERY part it. We wasted nothing as everything could be made into a different meal for several days. Just look at a menu at an authentic Chinese/Vietnamese restaurant - you'll find entrees most Americans will wince in disgust.

I also try and go low meat whenever possible. I've tried being a veg, but I start to feel run down and ill after a while. In a typical day, I might have only one meal with meat. I also do things where I'll take one pound or less of meat and stretch it out with beans, grains, vegetables, etc. It's very rarely that you'll see an actual separate piece of meat on my table. Tonight is actually one of those rare occasions- I'm roasting a chicken (free range organic). But there will be lots of sides and DH and I will eat off what's left for the whole week no doubt.

When oil prices increase to even greater levels we will see that the cost of transporting meat from the centralized factories greatly increase the cost of cheap meat making it too expensive for most families. Certainly this will result in either a health crisis or a political one (or both).

An answer is to once again allow and encourage local production.

I've tried being a veg, but I start to feel run down and ill after a while.

If that happened, then you weren't eating right, veg or not. I'm sorry, I get upset when people say things like that. I've been vegetarian for 12 years, vegan for 4 years, and I know for a fact that the reason I felt a little weaker when I first started was because I wasn't eating well-balanced food. Once I learned how to eat properly, I was fine and well.

I'd also like to point out that the guy who just won the UFC championship, Mac Danzig, is vegan and has been for a while.

"If that happened, then you weren't eating right, veg or not. I'm sorry, I get upset when people say things like that."

gretchenkjer, you raise a point that's true for some people, but not for everyone. Some people's bodies simply don't absorb iron as efficiently as others', and there's not much they can do about it. As well, there's a huge variance among different ethnic groups with regard to how they absorb animal protein. First Nations people have problems with dairy, as do many people of Asian heritage. Inuk people require a higher protein diet than average, as do members of African cultures that have domesticated cattle for thousands of years. And so on.

As a case in point closer to home, I have a friend who struggled to maintain a vegetarian diet for several years. She researched the subject exhaustively, with the belief that vegetarianism should work for everyone. She tried everything the books -- which all had a staunch pro-veg stance -- recommended, and in the process she made herself incredibly ill. In the end, suffering from acute anemia, she had to reintroduce small amounts of animal protein to her diet. She felt horrible about it and beat herself up endlessly, because she'd bought into the idea that everyone can be a strict vegetarian.

It's great if vegetarianism works for you. It does for me, too. I've had my blood tested and been told that my body absorbs iron extremely efficiently. But you can't project your own experience unilaterally onto others.

It is not just in Asia where every part of the animal is used... here in Europe too. Tripe, sweetbreads, heart, marrow, in addition to the regular kidneys and liver.

Just to add to what Art said, it is this Wal-Mart attitude -- that you should be getting more, and getting it cheaper, all the time that is killing this planet. After 10 months in Europe, I am amazed at how less consumerist Europeans are; I had assumed them to be like North Americans in this respect, but I was wrong. And it is not just in relation to food (every restaurant we eat in has proper serving sizes, and nothing is oversized!), but in every respect. And everything is more expensive than in North America, but people recognize and respect the cost of labour that goes into what they consume.

I just read the article as well. I wish it were more in depth. (would the Omnivore's Dilemma help clarify?)

We don't eat much meat -we probably have something animal-related 3 times a week or so - but I'm curious how far the environmental impact stretches. Do small local farms have a similar impact? Does organic beef make a difference?

Thank you, Doppelganger, for pointing out that there's a genetic link to individuals' ability to thrive on a vegetarian diet. I attempted for years to eat a vegetarian diet, but became sick and overweight, despite working closely with a nutritionist and trying to "eat right."

Turned out that like most of my ethnic-Georgian family, I am insulin resistant - as soon as I added animal protein into my diet, cut sugar out, and minimized grains, I dropped 50 pounds and got my health back.

Studies have been done on the traditional Georgian diet, which is high in animal protein and low in grains and fruits. In the past, Georgians who ate traditional diets had some of the longest life expectancy worldwide. Now, of course, with the introduction of Western junk food, this is no longer the case.

Personally I don't agree that the solution is to give up animal protein, but to be responsible about where we acquire it and educate ourselves about how it is produced whenever possible. If enough consumers boycotted feedlot/big agribusiness products, perhaps there would be a change in how American meat is produced.

Although I suppose it's overly optimistic of me to say so, because of the politics behind all of that corn and soy being produced for the feedlot.

Just curious, how do the typical vegetarian animal-derived products fit into this? Are eggs and cheese as bad as a hunk of meat or no?

But maybe if people learn about the politics (not to mention health problems) associated with agribusiness' push of corn and soy, they'll fight back... Maybe the tide can turn...

http://www.bleu-blanc-coeur.com/ve/PresentationEN.pdf

The traditional Inuit diet was also high in protein and fat, with grains and fruit and veg practically non-existant, and until the introduction of western foods, cardiovascular disease essentially did not exist. That is what lead researchers in the direction of omega-3 fats, which were very high in their diet. And since cooked flax (rich source of omega-3s) has been a traditional animal feed since ancient times, I am guessing it is a key reason that the traditional Georgian diet was so healthy (it is interesting that the Inuit and other native peoples who had similar diets also have an extremely high rate of insulin resistance, and now suffer from an epidemic of diabetes).

Small local farms do not have the impact of large factory farms, especially if the meat is being consumed locally. Think about all the carbon fuels used -- from the growing and distribution of the corn and soy, to the animals and their housing, the shipping to feed lots and abattoirs (often hundreds of miles away), to processing plants and finally through a national distribution network.

Contrast that with a good local organic farm which raises grass-fed animals, and has on-site abattoir and processing facilities. Even if it ships the meat nationally, it still makes less of an environmental impact than a factory farm.

(Here is a source for meat and eggs that I really believe in: http://www.foxfirefarms.com/index.asp?PageAction=COMPANY)

The same holds true for eggs and cheese -- factory-farmed make more of an environmental imprint than small or local growers and artisanal cheesemakers. ...It not only tastes better, it is better for you. And I happen the believe it is well worth paying for.

If you're a New Yorker, you can buy grass fed beef at the Greenmarket in Union Square.

Interesting how these threads get hijacked by vegans and veggies so quickly.

Nowhere in this article does is say to stop eating meat, rather it asks us to reconsider eating meat at every meal to the tune of 1/2 lb a day. As with most things sustainable -- moderation and knowledge is all that is being called for.

@monika1, I know I have mentioned it before but there is no "here in Europe". Your statement about tripe etc is, forgive me, nonsensical in relation to the whole continent. And, at the moment, in most countries (poss not Switzerland), the reason food seems more expensive is because of the weak dollar (or the circles you are moving in).

I think it's fair to say that Europe generally has a much different food culture than America. Generally speaking, many of the countries and regions have centuries of food tradition. These traditions are based on regional products. Needless to say, many of these food traditions are based on resourcefulness, using regional products to their full potential.

In America, the drive to assembly line everything has assembly lined our eating. It will be very, very hard to reverse this. It doesn't matter if meat prices go up. They always do during certain times of the year. It doesn't curb demand. Besides, we've figured out ways scientifically alter meat product to make it cheaper.

For example. There is an industrial technique used to extract albumin, a natural glue almost, from muscle tissue. Lean pieces of tenderloin trimming that would otherwise go into ground beef can be glued back together with albumin, formed into a cylinder and then sliced into an 8 or 10 oz. "filet" and be sold for a few dollars. These are often marketed wrapped with bacon in a plastic blister pack in the meat section.

While you and I may be trying to cut back on our red meat consumption and to eat organic grass fed beef, suppliers are constantly figuring out ways to give the masses what they really want--more meat. More meat in their hot pockets, more meat for their hamburger helper, more meat for their favorite fast food burger, taco or toasty sub, more meat for their hot dogs, more meat for their empty food culture.

I'm sorry if I got ranty, I just tend to take things personally when I hear them over and over, and they become an excuse for people to say I am crazy and I can't possibly be healthy. I get a lot of lecturing from omnivores, I assure you at least 10 times more than the omnis may get from vegetarians.

I apologize to those that I offended. Most of them time I'm pretty low-key about my veganism, but every once in a while, the claws come out. :D

Hello? Mark Bittman, where have you been for the last 20 or 30 years? This is news?