Posts
.jpg)
Before I even get started on this article, I want to say first and foremost that this little ditty is solely directed at all of us non-vegetarian-non-vegan folks out there. If you are already a vegan, or vegetarian (out of health, ecological, or ethical reasons) and you are successfully enjoying living this lifestyle I applaud you and think it’s fabulous. My aim with this article is to educate myself and my fellow omnivores about some of the facts and figures out there, so that we can maybe apply some... well let’s call it “restraint and reason”... with regards to consuming meats.It’s been some time that I’ve really wanted to learn more about the truths regarding the consumption of meats and by meats I mean red meat, poultry, pork, fish and anything else out there that is “meaty”. What I hope to uncover are some of the facts about how the animal products we are consuming are affecting the economy, the ecology, and our health. I’m going to skip over the ethical reasons not to eat meat, because honestly I am not ashamed that I eat animals – and I don’t feel guilty about that. I think it is natural for people to eat meat, because frankly it is natural, and I think that we all deserve to choose for ourselves without punishment.
To give you a little bit about my meat eating background, I come from a family with farming and fishing and hunting in its history. My dad and brother both love to hunt, and so there was nothing out of the ordinary for me to see geese being brought into the garage to be plucked and readied for our Thanksgiving dinner. My parents have also raised ducks from being little babies in a kiddie pool splashing around in the backyard, to being adults living the life in a lovely pond at the farm, to being served for dinner. They currently raise the most delicious, and most spoiled, chickens in the world – that have the run of a huge pen and eat the best feed, supplemented by every apple or veggie that doesn’t get eaten by us. These chickens are massively meaty –growing to be between 10 and 15 pounds of healthy happy chicken. The whole operation is quite ecological actually... And there is nothing like knowing exactly where your food is coming from.
In addition to all the above, my husband’s family has a cattle farm in Manitoba, where they have been in the business of raising delicious beef for decades. Again, to not eat beef in our family would practically be a sin... After all there are a lot of Canadian livelihoods “at stake” if everyone gave “up steak”. Pardon the bad joke. So here I go diving, or should I say dining, into unknown territory. My aim? To discover how is it possible to continue to eat meat, but have less of a negative impact on our ecology... And to have a favourable impact on our health, as well as a favourable impact on our economy. I’ve decided to call it being “un-vegetarian”, a more socially and health conscious way to enjoy being an omnivore.
Here are the first 5 ways to becoming an “un-vegetarian”!
1) Eat local beef.
There has been plenty of press about the horrible deforestation of the Amazon by Amazon cattle ranchers, as well as the land degradation, top soil erosion and other problems that are caused by the livestock industry in arid areas. But, in Canada, the grazing based production of cattle in our prairies is a much more ecologically friendly way to raise cattle than in other areas. As for your health, cattle that are grass fed are higher in omega 3 fats (good for you!), and have less saturated fat (bad for you!). Now this is a bad thing in the “grading” of the meat, as higher fat marbling means a higher grade of steak, so look or ask for leaner cuts of Canadian Beef from your local butcher or farmer. Follow this step and you also are helping our economy by buying local and supporting your local farmers.
2) Plain and Simply, Eat Less Beef.
Beef, although delicious, is not exactly the “healthiest” piece of meat around. Although beef does have protein, and iron, vitamin B12 and zinc, frequent, and/or too much consumption of beef is linked to the occurrence of breast and colorectal cancers, due to its high saturated fat content, as well as cardiovascular disease. By cutting down your intake to 4-8 ounces of beef (depending on your size) once a week you will still be getting those important nutrients, and you will still be enjoying the experience of beef - but you will be saving yourself long-term from many health problems. Additionally, consuming less beef has a strong beneficial impact on the ecology and you can still support your local farmers (when in season) by buying their chickens, eggs, fruits and vegetables.
3) Eat Free-Range Organic chicken.
“Organic” means that the chicken isn’t genetically modified, has not been treated with anti-biotics or synthetic hormones, and that it has been fed 100 % organic feed. “Free-Range” basically means that the chickens have been allowed to run free rather than be caged in close quarters (a more humane way to treat these birds), but in order for it to truly have an effect on the flavour and health of the meat it also should include the chickens having access to grass, greens, and bugs to eat.
By eating Free-Range Organic chicken, you are cutting out a lot of chemicals and you are also supporting the farmers that run a more ecological and ethical operation.
4) Meat, it’s what’s for dinner.
There are plenty of ways besides eating meat to get your daily intake of protein, if this is a concern to you, whether you are an athlete or just the average person. You can get oodles of protein from beans and lentils, nuts, dairy products, and delicious grains like Quinoa, as well as supplementation via protein shakes if you so wish. That said, an easy way to cut down on your overall intake of meat is to restrict eating meat to dinner times only. The rest of the day you can focus on obtaining your protein from other scrumptious sources!
5) Fruits and Veggies and Grains: When You Take Out All That Meat...
Let’s face it, if we are eating a tonne of meat how can there possibly be room left in our bellies to be getting (optimally) 10 servings of fruits and vegetables and 5 servings of grains a day. One serving is considered to be between ½ and 1 cup of volume, so honestly, how can we stuff that much good stuff on top of that 6oz pork chop we just inhaled?! To be our very best; we should be having 5 meals a day that all include 2 servings of fruits or vegetables, and 1 serving of grains. We are only supposed to be eating 2-3 servings of meat, (including fish and eggs), per day (One serving weighing only 100 grams)! So if we have an egg with breakfast, and then a chicken breast at dinner – that’s all that is recommended we have (and this, according to our “meat advocating” government)! Now I’m not even saying to go that far right away if you are really used to meatier meals, but a step in that direction is definitely a good thing, for the Earth and for our waistlines.
All in all, I truly believe that having a balance in life is essential. Going overboard on anything is generally never a good thing (and hard to maintain, never mind) so why not try to make a small change that if we all make together will equal really big results. I like the idea of leaving a tinier footprint on the world... How about you?!
Until my next edition... Have a green, I mean good, night!
0 comments:
Post a Comment