There are a lot of reasons why people choose a vegetarian diet. Many people feel that a well-balanced vegetarian diet is simply healthier, and there is a lot of information to back this up. In fact, eating too much meat is far less healthy that no meat at all, and The Guardian reports that meat-eaters are at higher risk for cancer. Others object philosophically to eating animals at all, and/or the conditions and treatment of animals in slaughterhouses and factory farms. These places are not only horrible in the treatment of animals (we’ve all heard about the conditions and animals that never walk or move) – but they often use a lot of chemicals and unsanitary practices, as well as creating high levels of pollution, which are very unhealthy for the human consumers of this food.

Another reason that people eat vegetarian is the implication of meat-eating on our planet – both the earth and its people. In simple economic terms, it requires far more resources to raise and produce red meat than it does poultry; and more for poultry than fish; etc. Basically, the larger the animal the more resources it takes to produce it. It takes 10,000 kg of wheat to produce 1,000 kg of beef, which feeds 15 adults. Conversely, only 1,000 kg of wheat can directly feed 15 adults. And Americans consume 60% more meat than Europeans.

This has a huge, trickle-down effect on not only the earth, but hunger and food production for the billions of people on it. Some argue that if everyone went vegetarian we wouldn’t even have a hunger problem – the grains, water, energy and other resources freed up from meat production would more than feed everyone who is currently going hungry in the world. Of course, that leads to other practical concerns such as delivery of that food, etc; this isn’t an article about that, but you can certainly read much more about it. As the New York Times reports:

“These assembly-line meat factories consume enormous amounts of energy, pollute water supplies, generate significant greenhouse gases and require ever-increasing amounts of corn, soy and other grains, a dependency that has led to the destruction of vast swaths of the world’s tropical rain forests. Americans eat about eight ounces [of meat] a day, roughly twice the global average. At about 5 percent of the world’s population, we “process” (that is, grow and kill) nearly 10 billion animals a year, more than 15 percent of the world’s total.”

About two to five times more grain is required to produce the same amount of calories through livestock as through direct grain consumption; it’s as much as 10 times more in the case of grain-fed beef in the United States. The environmental impact of growing so much grain for animal feed is profound.

You may also want to check out this excellent article in the Huffington Post, which does a good job of explaining the environmental impact of production, processing, transportation, cooking, and waste (20% of edible meat winds up in landfills – and 44% of salmon is thrown away!!). The article reaches a familiar conclusion: people should eat less meat and dairy. In particular, the article points to these foods that take the largest toll on the environment: lamb, beef, pork, cheese and farmed salmon. It’s important to note that most of these people, and myself included, don’t advocate that the world should get rid of these animals altogether; they are essential to the nutrient cycle. However, if each American cuts meat and cheese from their diet for one day a week it would be equivalent to taking 7.6 million cars off the road. “We can grow our meat more efficiently,” says Simon Donner, a climate and agriculture expert at the University of British Columbia. “More grass-feeding and the use of less processed feed would be one way.”

Michael Pollan, the well-known author of books such as The Omnivore’s Dilemma, writes:

“Food. There’s plenty of it around, and we all love to eat it. So why should anyone need to defend it? Because most of what we’re consuming today is not food, and how we’re consuming it — in the car, in front of the TV, and increasingly alone — is not really eating. Instead of food, we’re consuming “edible foodlike substances” — no longer the products of nature but of food science. The omnivore’s dilemma has returned with a vengeance, as the cornucopia of the modern American supermarket and fast-food outlet confronts us with a bewildering and treacherous food landscape. What’s at stake in our eating choices is not only our own and our children’s health, but the health of the environment that sustains life on earth.”

For a lot of people, eating a strictly vegetarian diet is practically unthinkable – and please don’t think this is what I’m preaching, because I myself am not vegetarian. However, I eat very little red meat and I am careful about what seafood and poultry I eat (sticking with locally grown, organic choices and avoiding endangered seafood). Being mindful that you aren’t getting meat that is commercially factory-farmed (which is bad for the environment AND your body) is a big step – buy local grass-fed beef and organic farm-raised chickens, shop farmers markets or get a local farm delivery going, and avoid grabbing meat from mass-production corporations at the grocery store.

And believe it or not, going meatless even ONE DAY A WEEK makes a huge difference. An initiative called Meatless Monday is starting a movement for this; as their website states, going meatless once a week may reduce your risk of chronic preventable conditions like cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and obesity. It can also help reduce your carbon footprint and save precious resources like fresh water and fossil fuel. The site has a lot of great recipes to try, and you can sign the pledge if you want to commit to the habit.

Sasha Aronson writes at the Elephant Journal, “The government subsidizes our food. As a result, we can go into the store and buy meat for, say, as little as $1 per pound if you’re just going to the local supermarket. What is troubling about government subsidies is that it makes meat seem far more accessible than it actually is. In order for that beef or chicken, pork or bison to make its way into our shopping carts the animal had to first be supported by tons upon tons of grain and water. This system is incredibly demanding of our natural resources, and is actually very inefficient.”

This raises the question of, “how much meat would people eat if we had to pay the actual cost of it?”

Sasha, like myself, is not a vegetarian but limits her meat consumption to one or two days a week and is careful about what kind of meat she eats.

My “bible” for this project, Shift Your Habit, lists a few more food tips for eating more sustainably:

Grow your own herbs instead of buying them – fresher, cheaper & more plentiful!

Eat fresh fruits and vegetables instead of canned ones.

Buy a fresh loaf of bread from the bakery instead of packaged bread.

Use the faucet, water filter or refillable pitcher instead of buying bottled water.

Reduce or eliminate soda consumption.

Buy value-priced organic wine.

Buy block cheese instead of shredded or pre-sliced.

Use ground turkey instead of ground beef.

Cook with whole chickens instead of cut-up ones.

Buy condiments in glass jars or bottles instead of plastic containers.

Speaking of this last one, I am pretty excited about a very cool new zero-waste grocery store coming to my East Austin neighborhood this fall! It’s called in.gredients, and it’s all about precycling and local, organic goods. Customers will not only bring their own shopping bags, but their own containers to fill with sauces, milk, granola, whatever. I think it’s an awesome revolution in how we consume food products.

This project is coming to a close; please stay tuned for my next 30-Day Experiment! Until then, live well.