So I was at the orthopaedic specialist’s office on Friday (this is another story entirely, that I’ll probably tell you later!) and began reading an article in Audubon magazine (which I had never even heard of before) that made me re-evaluate my recent eating habits.
In the past few months I’ve been rationalizing my consumption of meat, mostly just chicken and seafood. I’ve been telling myself that free-range, organically raised chicken is okay. Beef is not. I can eat seafood if it’s on the Monterey Bay Safe Seafood list – still not sure where I stand on this issue actually. And other such excuses, but after reading the article, it confirmed my tinge of meat lovers guilt. I knew that making these little meat “allowances” meant I still wasn’t doing everything I could do to help the situation and the impact that raising meat is having on the climate crisis.
Honestly, I love meat, but I’ve chosen to refrain from eating it mainly due to the environmental cost of raising it. Originally I had decided to stop consuming meat after reading The Way We Eat: Why Our Food Choices Matter. Before that I hadn’t realized how much of our resources we were pumping into meat production. Furthermore, the indirect costs of factory farming (excessive amounts of animal waste, CO2 production – as well as other heat trapping gasses) were just as detrimental to the environment.
As a ethical issue, the consumption of meat actually does not bother me. Humans are omnivores and were made to be able to consume meat, it’s a natural way of life. On the other hand, I do have a problem with the concept of “meat farms”. I don’t approve of chickens, cows, pigs, etc being cooped up in their tiny cages with poor living conditions and being grown like crops. It’s just not fair, sure we eat them but that shouldn’t be the entire life they are allowed to live.
I don’t know how I developed this “condition” but when I walk by the butcher case sometimes I replace the hams and beef cuts with human parts and I have to get far, far away from that part of the supermarket. Maybe I’ve watched one too many horror movies, maybe my subconscious is trying to make me stay away from it. Anyway, this then makes me think back to the factory farms and if I start replacing those animals, living like slaves, with humans then I feel a little sick about that too.
It’s been hard for me to not have a bite of something with seafood or chicken when I have dinner with my family or go to Dim Sum with them on the weekends. My family almost always eats Chinese food, and most Chinese food is heavy on the meat and it’s also delicious. It’s food I grew up with so it’s hard to not want to eat at least some of it and participate in the family meal. It’s also difficult when my family doesn’t quite understand the reasons behind my decisions. It’s kind of like in My Big Fat Greek Wedding, the mother of the bride says she’ll make lamb when the bride tells her that the groom doesn’t eat meat. They ask me what happens when I go out to dinner with friends, “What do you do? Are you eating? Do you just sit there?” as if restaurants don’t have vegetarian options.
Anyway, I realized that I’ve just been putting off doing what I know I should do and really stop eating meat once and for all. I want to do my part and also set an example as a meat lover who has stopped eating meat. Sometimes we have to make those sacrifices and this is one I am willing to make.
The Low Carbon Diet is the article and it’s available online if you want to read it.