Did you know that there’s something you can easily do to help preserve the environment while improving your own personal health at the same time? Stop eating red meat. We already know that red meat (compared to other protein sources) is at the top of the danger list, but the extra research on its impact on the environment makes giving it up all the more compelling.
Compared to pork or chicken, cultivating red meat takes up 28x more land space. Red meat also results in significant carbon emissions, which is not the case with other forms of protein. The livestock necessary for raising cows and cattle that will eventually be sold as red meat also means higher consumption of water, grains, given their body mass. Basically, it’s a lot more expensive to produce red meat and in the end it will just harm the environment and ourselves.
While people mainly go for red meat because of the taste, there’s no reason why we should stick to it even if it will raise our cholesterol levels and open us up to a host of illnesses. The alternatives are just as tasty, if one simply focused on making them palatable and mimic the taste of beef. Fond of eating steaks? Why not substitute strips of lean pork that’s stir-fried in butter and garlic, and served with a siding of mashed potatoes and gravy? Can’t resist a good burger? Easily solved by flavoring up ground chicken and forming them into patties that go right into the grill. With some tweaks here and there, there’s no reason why we can’t satisfy our taste for meat and save the environment – and our own selves! – at the same time. It might take some time to convert your red meat loving friends to white meat consumers (and veggie enthusiasts!), but it will be worth it.
Sources:
http://www.iflscience.com/environment/new-study-says-beef-10x-more-damaging-environment-chicken-pork-or-dairy-foods/
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2015/jun/29/usda-diet-nutrition-environment-sustainability-omega-3-beef
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/jul/21/giving-up-beef-reduce-carbon-footprint-more-than-cars