Getting to the Meat of the Matter

I am an omnivore. My teeth are an omnivore's teeth. Not so long ago, I was a vegetarian. I was a vegetarian for many, many years until I needed to limit my carbohydrate intake. I also became a locavore, and as I began to source my food from local farmers I also worked to decrease my reliance on food that grows far from my home - food like soybeans. I became an omnivore once again, and I struggle with this. As a pet owner, I have a hard time eating meat. However, the real reason that I became vegetarian was the profound sense that our bodies are meant to eat much less meat than North Americans eat today.

North American economies are hurting right now, but we must admit that our societies have a very high basic level of wealth. Even those of us who are struggling financially can use the resources that other, wealthier members of society have left behind. We can shop at thrift stores that process immense quantities of unwanted items. We can find free goods through Craigslist and Freecycle. This embodied social wealth also extends to food. We can buy meat, even if that meat is a hot dog.

All of this meat consumption translates into 60 billion food animals. Where do these food animals live? While some live in urban areas or in the pig pens of small farmers, eating scrap food, many of them live in areas that could support crops and they eat food that could be eaten by people. This poses an environmental conundrum for the ethical eater: is meat consumption completely antithetical to creating a sustainable food system, or is it possible to eat meat and still

Germany's Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research has released a report that analyzes global meat consumption. As a global average, people's diets contain about 38% animal protein. It goes without saying that North Americans are higher than this average. We're eating a tremendous amount of animal-based food. Do we need to eliminate it altogether? Surprisingly, the study found that the world could sustain 9 billion people - those people would just need to eat meat only three times a week.

Is this impossible? Not for me. The great value in being an ex-vegetarian is that I still think like a vegetarian. I plan my meals around vegetables rather than meat. To me, meat can be part of a recipe, but it's not the main attraction. These days, our family's main culinary goal is to consume all of the vegetables that we get from our abundant farm share. I love eating this way, and based on my experiences in places around the world, this is the way much of the world eats. It's not vegetarian, but it's definitely not carnivorous. It's delicious, and it's healthy. The question is - can North Americans embrace the idea of eating meat sometimes, and in small quantities? I'm not sure if we can.