If We Eat Less Meat, Can We Save the Planet and Ourselves?
Eating less meat means eating less meat, not cutting it out completely, and that sounds reasonable. In fact, I started buying locally, grass-fed beef since this summer and pretty much refuse to buy it from the grocery store anymore--beef is one of those things that's not necessarily seasonal, and so can be acquired at the farmers market all year. Since it costs more at the market, we just eat less of it--and it's been just fine, actually.
I have to agree that we could just eat less in general. A lot of restaurant portions are ridiculous; we've switched to eating at sushi places or tapas restaurants when we go out, mostly because the portions are a lot more manageable. Yeah, not cheap either, but we only eat out fancy-like every couple of months (birthdays, anniversaries, special occasions).
I don't think we need to eat as much as we do, particularly meat. I think American culture thrived on the bounty created by industrialized meat (and food in general), when it first started out. But we've taken that to an extreme in a hedonistic way, almost. So the fact that there are repercussions and that, in a capitalistic society, it continues to be lucrative (and cheap for consumers), are both not surprises.
I think of farmers in the past eating--they had true cause to eat heartily, considering they were caring for an entire farm--and I think they would be a little shocked at how much we eat. Overeating, to me, is a little like drinking too much--for special occasions or times when you've managed to bring together a large group of family and friends. Should we drink too much every day? No. The occasional over-indulgence (and the inevitable "oh that sucks" moment the next morning) keeps us in check--or should.
This isn't me shaking my finger at people, but with people shaking their fingers at how little I eat (I'm five feet tall and wanted to lose weight, and am now maintaining--so my portions seem just fine to me), I wonder if they should examine not how little I eat, but how much they do. Yeah, a small sandwich does look pathetic next to a steak and cheese on a humongous grinder roll--but it's not so pathetic if you add a salad, some ingenuity and a few more years on my life.
Wow, I didn't realize I had so much of an opinion on this...
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