Benefits Of Eating Less Meat

Eschewing meat consumption is all the rage nowadays. Consumption of meat seems to be an expensive and inefficient way of getting the calories that we would otherwise get directly from plants. Allowing the nutrients to be processed by the animal and then consumed entails a lot of wastage in terms of energy, resources, and a host of pollutants and emissions. Giving up meat can cut a person’s carbon footprint by a ton.

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Why should you eat less meat?

1. To save rainforests: Every year, an area larger than New York is cut down in the Amazon jungles to provide grazing ground for livestock- most of which end up on American dinner tables.
2. To clean up the air: livestock bred for the table produce solid manure weighing 1.4 million tonnes every year. The methane gas emitted by livestock is 130 times that emitted by humans
3. To save water: It takes almost 30 times more water to produce meat than it does to grow vegetables making it a wise way to maintain ecological balance.
4. Animals are injected with steroids to fatten them up for the table. Most of these steroids are excreted, polluting the water table.
5. Preservatives are added to meat to keep it fresh and looking pink. These preservatives are harmful to health.
6. Eating less meat leads to a healthier heart and lower chances of strokes and hypertension.

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Going Green

If going vegetarian seems a drastic way to go green, one can opt to be a flexitarian- one who adopts a mostly vegetarian diet but does not give up meat entirely. Most famous among these is Sir Paul McCartney, who does not have meat on Mondays. Eating meat involves rearing animals to provide the meat. These animals emit methane which is a major cause of global warming. Saving water also contributes to preserving the eco-balance.

Some ways in which to eat less meat:

• Have one or more meatless days in the week. This cuts down your meat consumption by 30percent
• Buy less meat. Buy only humanely raised meat which is pricey.
• Instead of making meat the focus of the meal, shift the focus to soups and entrees.
• Ethnic cuisine like Mediterranean and Indian use vegetables almost entirely. The herbs and spices are used to lend a great flavor to the meal.

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• Filet your cuts. The recommended serving of red meat is just the size of a pack of cards. Most of us consume far more. By filleting the meat, cooks better and gives the illusion of a much bigger cut.
• Include grain, vegetable, and pasta-based products in your meal. This leaves less space for a meat dish.
• Meat substitutes like tofu and seitan give the same amount of protein as meat does. Use meat substitutes to the extent possible.