Meat: It's what's for dinner no longer

Americans certainly do enjoy their meat. A meal isn't complete until 90% of the plate is covered with a slab of charred flesh. Vegetables merely play a supporting role by making sure the meat doesn't slip off the plate. Here are a few more things you're getting with that heap of dead animal, according to Sustainable Table:

[industrial farm] activity was identified as a source of pollution for 48% of stream and river water, and for 41% of lake water.

grain-fed beef...requires thirty-five calories for every calorie of beef produced.

one study of 34,000 pigs found that 65% of the animals had "pneumonia-like lesions" in their lungs.

roughly 25,000 square kilometers or 6 million acres of the Amazon rainforest is cut down every year for grazing cattle and to grow soybeans that are used for animal feed.

To learn more, watch The Meatrix, a Matrix-style expose on the meat industry.

Because of what I learned these and other sources, I decided to cease eating meat of any kind and to try to consume eggs and cheese produced through sustainable methods. I don't necessarily ask everyone to take this route; you need to find what works for you. I'll have more information about animal agriculture in future posts, so be sure to check back regularly.

If you find these issues appalling as I did, I suggest ordering a FREE vegetarian starter kit.

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:Jersey_cow.png

Buy Organic

Why From Greg Horn's book titled Living Green:

the typical bag of potato chips you buy at the supermarket has been subjected to over 50 chemicals from seed to shelf and can contain up to 75 times the "safe" levels of cancer-causing acrylamide established by the state of California.

The EPA now considers 60 percent of all herbicides, 90 percent of all fungicides, and 30 percent of all insecticides as potentially cancer-causing.

in 1995 [Dr. Walter] tested a patient for 18 of the more common pesticide residues and found the patient had 9 of them in his blood, including DDT [which was] banned in 1972.

the average American consumes 14 pounds of chemicals a year just from additives like artificial food colorings, flavorings, emulsifiers and preservatives; 2 pounds of the 14 are synthetic chemicals... such as pesticides, herbicides, antibiotics, hormones and heavy metals.

What is organic? I'll let the National Organic Program from the USDA handle this one...

How Shhh! Dispel your current myths of organic food buying. It can be easy and cheap.

1. Farmers Markets are spreading like crazy. Use Google to find local ones. Talk with the farmers to find out their practices, even if their food isn't USDA certified organic.
2. Trader Joe's is a cost-effective way to find great products that are organic.
   
3. In my opinion, Whole Foods is the mecca of healthy shopping. They really don't mess around (for example).
4. Grow your own food at home or in local community gardens. Again, Google is your friend here.

I used to shop at Whole Food exclusively (when I had a job), but now I hit up Trader Joe's (now that I'm a grad student). Taking a quick look through my pantry, many items are organic. I can shop at TJ's and get most everything I need for about $30/week. I sleep easy at night... do you?

Image: http://www.ams.usda.gov/nop/indexNet.htm

State my assumptions:

1. The environment is worthy of reparation and protection.
   
2. People, when given useful information, will take action.
   
3. Sustainable living can easily be made part of one's life.
   

Wikipedia defines sustainable living as:

a lifestyle that could, hypothetically, be sustained unmodified for many generations without exhausting any natural resources ... [often involving] transport, housing, energy, and diet.

This blog will chronicle my exploration of this important concept. I will share stories, news and ideas. It is my intention to show that with some basic knowledge, it is possible to move toward a sustainable future. I hope that you can gain inspiration from this adventure and find ideas that can be easily incorporated into your daily life. I encourage you to leave comments about each of my posts. Please check back every Wednesday and Saturday for updates, or subscribe to the news feed to get updates automatically.

Image: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:Earth_Western_Hemisphere.jpg