Veggies Save Energy
Posted by Glenn on September 20, 2005 - 9:02pm in The Oil Drum: Local
But lately when I've been reading about ways of reducing energy consumption, it has become inescapable - since I don't drive a car, the best way that I can personally reduce energy consumption is to simply consume less meat. According to GoVeg, meat consumption accounts for 1/3 of our total fossil fuel consumption. In fact 80% of agricultural land in this country goes to feed animals meant for consumption. We could dramatically increase our agricultural productivity and reduce our oil consumption if we could just eat less meat. Simple enough, right? Wrong.
For 2 weeks I started noting how much meat I ate and how many of my meals contained meat. Here were the grim statistics on my meat (over) consumption:
Lunch: 11 of 14 meals (79%)
Dinner: 13 of 14 meals (93%)
This is going to be hard! In most of the dinner and lunch meat meals, meat was the main dish. My resolution for the rest of the year is to only eat meat once a day AND make it more of a side dish as much as possible.
Cutting meat out of breakfast only means getting rid of bacon or sausage on the weekends, but it's been pretty hard choosing whether to eat meat at lunch or dinner. But I've managed to keep to the plan for the first two weeks. That means I've cut the number of meals with meat from 64% to just 33%.
It's totally a personal decision, but I really like that I can make s difference with each meal I choose.
Next step? Meatless Mondays.
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http://www.alternet.org/story/12162
I initially was interested in a vegetarian diet for environmental reasons, but I stay for my "trinity": Better for the environment, my health and animals.
(Yes, I know - it's from PETA. But read it and judge for yourself if what they say makes any sense).
and Diet For a Small Plant our family went veggie.
Another arguement is that it takes 10 calories of
oil to make a calorie of "processed" food. Dump
the breakfast cereal and make organic oatmeal with
fruit. We make a pot every 4 days. Eat less refined
foods, buy local, buy fresh. Enjoy the seasons by
not living isolated from them and enjoy fresh foods
in season.
Going veggie is pretty easy. For years I ate little
meat so I wasn't faced with the challenge that my wife
had - looking for something to substitute as meat.
Just have a pot-luck dinner with some veggie Indian's
and you'll discover great foods - without the focus on
a meat substitute.
A veggie diet will cut you chance of cancer by a good
factor of 4 or more and will REVERSE clogged arteries
that you already have.
We're actually somewhat aspiring vegans. Read The China
Study and you'll see the link between dairy/mean protein
and cancer. Milk is loaded with growth hormones to get a
calf to grow quickly. Humans do not need them and it's
a cancer promoter that is directly linked to cancer growth.
It goes on and on.
On the flip side - we're veggies for "environmental and
health" reasons. We see no reason to avoid free-range
meat such as chicken/cow that is raised naturally - not
grain fed. But keep in mind that meat is not healthy -
have very little of it if you value your health.
I have been a vegetarian for 10 years, and it is a really positive way to change your lifestyle. I salute you. In the interim period while you are adjusting to a meatless diet, try some of the "meat analog" soy foods. They might help satisfy any cravings. Morningstar, Gardenburger and Boca brands aren't bad. Sometimes I'll make these for convenience, but I am trying to steer clear of as much processed food as I can.
Experiment with new foods like tofu, seiten, tempeh and polenta, it will open up new worlds of taste. Some good restaurants in NYC include Angelica's Kitchen (E 9th St), Galaxy (next to Irving Plaza), Pump Energy Food (various Midtown locations), and Veggie Heaven (W 4th.)
One aspect of mankind's biological and social advancement that we should preserve (even after peak oil) is our ability to see food as an art form and a cultural expression. I think that means acknowledging the importance of animal products in these traditions. It would be sad of too many people gave up gave one of life's greatest pleasures under the misplaced assumption that vegetables are magic health potions and animal products (even in moderation) are poisons.