9 minute read
Meat, Wellness, and Sustainabilty
Meat, Wellness Sustainability
By Caroline Crowley & Sofia Rodriguez
We both grew up eating a lot of meat. But a lot has changed since then for a number of reasons. Caroline is now a vegan, and although Sofia still eats meat, she has significantly reduced how much. So how did two meat-lovers end up here?
I’ll cut right to the chase — reducing your consumption of animal products will reduce your impact on the environment and improve your personal health. This doesn’t mean you have to go vegan or be a vegetarian, but there are plenty of small changes you can make in your diet to improve your health and the health of the environment.
Before I came to college, I ate meat and animal products on a daily basis. I loved double bacon cheeseburgers, beefy, cheesy tacos and a good sirloin steak. I was aware that eating red meat had negative health impacts, and when I came to college I found out that the meat industry also had negative effects on the environment.
At first, I was unaware of how large these impacts were. Maybe out of convenience for myself, I didn’t really look into them until last summer. I was listening to my favorite podcast at the time, How to Save a Planet, and learned that one-quarter of global greenhouse gas emissions come from agriculture and land use in an episode called “The Beef with Beef.” I decided to cut red meat out of my diet as much as possible that day. It seemed like a simple enough step I could take to make an impact on the environment, and it would be good for my health, too.
In the end, I was right — it was a simple step and I soon eliminated red meat from my diet entirely. The idea of eating a double bacon cheeseburger actually makes me a little nauseous now. Once I cut out red meat, I felt lighter — but still completely satisfied — after my meals. It was a win-win situation.
In just my first semester, I already felt better about my impacts on the environment, and I even felt better physically — I loved that I didn’t feel as tired after meals. Then, I enrolled in a class all about people, land and food. Shortly after I started the class, I stopped eating all animal products and transitioned to a fully vegan diet. A few facts from the course stuck out to me and made a huge impact on my decision.
According to a study from 2013 by Emily Cassidy and colleagues called “Redefining agricultural yields: from tonnes to people nourished per hectare,” livestock production creates 18%
Your Health and the Health of the Environment: What do they have in common?
A Perspective from a Meat-Lover Turned Vegan
By: Caroline Crowley
of greenhouse gas emissions and takes up 75% of agricultural land use worldwide.
“Diet and the environment: does what you eat matter?” a 2009 study by Harold Marlow and colleagues, explains that plant-based diets conserve 54% of average weekly water consumption. Nonvegetarian diets require 2.9 times more water, 2.5 times more energy, 13 times more fertilizer and 1.4 times more pesticides than vegetarian diets.
Aside from the other mounds of evidence that vegetarian and vegan diets are better for the environment, there are also studies that prove their positive effects on human health.
Despite all of this, making the switch to a vegan diet is intimidating and can seem impossible. In the case of many college students, time and money can be barriers to making the switch. It’s hard to come up with vegan recipes — especially if you like meat and grew up eating it regularly. But there are plenty of places to find cheap vegan meals for college students, and I’ve found it to be doable!
Vegan and vegetarian diets are not for everyone, nor should they have to be. However, I think reducing meat consumption is a path forward to improving your health and environmental health. Even “Meatless Mondays” have their benefits — anything you can do to reduce your footprint is better than nothing! In the long run, swapping meat out for beans and other plant-based protein sources as much as possible will reduce your negative impact on the environment, but it will also improve your personal health.
For me, I just feel better when I eat plantbased foods, and that’s what health is all about.
I love Meat... Here’s Why I Cut Down my Intake
A Perspective from an Omnivore
By Sofia Rodriguez
Growing up I ate a LOT of meat. I loved it. I looked forward to long car rides because it meant that my mom and dad would let us stop at McDonald’s where I could get my ultimate favorite meal: a Mcdonald’s cheeseburger, french fries and a small vanilla shake. Every day after school I asked my mom if I could either have chicken nuggets or a hot dog. And don’t even get me started on bacon… good, crispy bacon continues to be a breakfast favorite of mine. Obviously, I enjoyed more than just meat. My family ate relatively healthy food, and my parents made sure we consumed plenty of healthy grains, nuts, beans, fruits and vegetables, but my favorite meals always tended to be meat-based. My diet has diversified since then and my palate has changed (for the better) as I have grown older and become increasingly more interested in food, but to this day I still love meat. So the question is: why did I cut my meat intake?
When I was 11 years old, my sister went vegetarian. At the time, I can’t say I completely understood why. It definitely wasn’t a change I wanted to make. Plus, unlike myself, my sister had never really enjoyed the taste of meat. Within a few years, my mom went pescatarian and my sister went vegan. My diet inevitably changed. Thanks to my mom and sister, I began eating way more plant-based dishes. And more importantly, I began enjoying them more. Now I LOVE vegetables. But a big part of this transformation was trying vegetable dishes that were well-prepared and flavorful and then later on learning how to make these dishes at home. There’s a huge difference between boiled and unsalted plain brussel sprouts (which yes, I did eat as a child) and brussel sprouts marinated in a maple syrup and soy sauce glaze and caramelized in the oven until crispy.
Although I began to enjoy vegetarian meals, I still loved meat and ate it frequently. It was not until I began to learn more about the health and environmental consequences of a meat-heavy diet that I started to make a conscious effort to reduce the amount I was consuming. Across many different studies, red and processed meat has been shown to increase health risks like heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and premature death. The World Health Organization classifies processed meat in Group 1, meaning that there has been sufficient evidence that it is carcinogenic to humans. Now does that mean if you eat one steak then you are going to get cancer? Well, no, but it does mean that eating a diet heavy with red and processed meats will increase your risk of developing certain adverse health conditions.
And as Caroline divulged, the environmental impact of meat consumption is alarming. The Guardian reported that over 60% of the greenhouse gasses from worldwide food production Food production makes up one-third of all human-caused planet-heating gasses. And even worse, The Guardian cited a recent study that found that 60% of the greenhouse gasses from worldwide food production is from the meat industry. The poor treatment of animals that come along with factory farms and the wide-
scale production and distribution of animal meat is yet another compelling reason to reconsider your meat intake.
The culmination of finding my love for vegetarian dishes and learning the consequences of a diet heavy with meat led me to reduce my intake. I experimented by being vegetarian for a month which pushed me to try dishes that I would usually not gravitate toward (the Cheba Hut veggie sandwich is fire). Now I’d be lying if I said I never ate red or processed meats. I still do, but my point is that I have reduced how much meat I consume on a regular basis and I am more conscious about when I do choose to eat meat. I consider what meat I am eating and where that meat is coming from with an emphasis on eating meat from smaller and more ethical farms. Some weeks I’m not as good as others, but I feel better that I am being more aware and intentional about my decisions.
Caroline and I wanted to share a few tips and ideas that we have found helpful for reducing our meat consumption that may help others who still enjoy eating meat:
1. Force yourself to try vegetarian dishes at restaurants. I promise that you will find some new favorites. An easy way to start is to swap a meat appetizer for a plant-based appetizer.
2. Find new staple meatless recipes that you are excited to add to your home cooking routine. One of Sofia’s ultimate favorite meals is an Israeli couscous salad with pistachios, chickpeas, goat cheese, olives dressed with a simple plain Greek yogurt, lemon juice, and olive oil dressing. This recipe is the perfect example of how eating meatless can still be flavorful, fun, and protein-packed.
3. Do your own research! We have barely scratched the surface of the health, environmental, and moral reasons why you should reduce your meat consumption. Read some articles, find a book, or tune in to one of the many excellent documentaries or podcasts that will help you uncover pertinent information about what you consume. We think the more you look into the animal industry and its consequences, the more you will want to reduce your intake.
4. Going along with research, do not get caught in the trap that you will not be able to get enough protein if you stop eating protein. You can still get plenty of protein in grains, beans, nuts, and vegetables.
5. When you do eat meat, make it purposeful. Don’t just throw chicken into something because you can. For example, on a special occasion, Sofia loves to get a nice steak. Eating this way has made her appreciate and savor the meat she eats so much more.
6. Start small if you need to. You want this to be a sustainable, long-term change to the way you eat. Get your roommates to do Meatless Mondays with you. Try going vegetarian for a week so you can explore what a vegetarian diet looks like on a daily basis. Give yourself a limit on how many times you are allowed to have red meat in a month.
