Happy Monday everybody! Are you ready for the new week ahead and up for a little challenge? As summer rolls around we are all trying to change up our eating habits a little bit – more fruit and vegetables, less fast and processed food. In addition to that, why don’t we try eating less meat this week? Here are some basic facts:
1 | First of all, let me clear up one thing: Eating meat isn’t unhealthy (in general). The only thing unwholesome about the way we consume meat are the amounts we eat on a regular basis (the common American eats about 120 kg per person per year, Europeans about 80 kg). Just remember that a few decades ago, people used to have a special roast on Sundays and that was it for the week.
2 | Did you know that the meat industry also plays a large part in all those global warming issues? According to Greenpeace, one kilo of beef produces roughly the same amount of greenhouse emissions as an average car on a stretch of 250 km. You could take a small trip and still produce less emissions than a steak. Also, lifestock needs tremendous amounts of water that could be saved as well (around 6000 to 10000 litres of water go into one steak!).
3 | I don’t really need to tell you about the cruel conditions on common animal farms on here and I guess we all have a basic idea about it. I would really recommend reading Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer or watching Food, Inc, they both give a real good overview of the industry at the moment. The PETA website is a really good resource as well.
Why don’t we all try to consume meat a little bit more consciously this week? Living meatless for five days in a row shouldn’t be hard, right? I can’t wait to try some new recipes! Whether you decide to go completely vegetarian after that or reduce your ‘meat meals’ to one or two per week, you will definitely make a healthy change for yourself and the environment. And if you have the occasional burger or steak, I would advice you to get the freshest meat possible at your local butcher and not something cheap from the supermarket.
If you decide to play along, here are some great vegetarian recipes:
+ Coconut Curry with Broccoli and Chickpeas
+ Farmer’s Market Flatbread Pizza
And if you’re after something sweet:
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Now I’m interested: Are you going to play along? Have you been a vegetarian for ages? Or could you never live a day without meat?
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Picture by Danielle Marshall | Lucky Number Seven Studio for Hanna’s Places.
Best of luck with this! I’ve been a pescatarian (or a “bad vegetarian”) for a couple of years now, and feel really good about it. I didn’t give up fish since I adore sushi and find it difficult to get enough protein — especially when eating out — without it.
Excited to hear what you think after the week!
I eat meat/chicken here and there, but fruits and veggies are my jam! Honestly surprised I haven’t turned into one, haha ;) I am definitely going to try out some of these recipes above!
Watching Food, Inc. was so eyeopening for me.. my husband and I try to eat as fresh, healthy + consciously as we can. We’ve been doing a farm share for the past year for both meats + veggies, and only buy our meats/eggs from ethical local farms. That being said, we’ve also been more conscious about our portion size. After making a huge effort in eating healthy portions, I’m so amazed at how outrageous restaurant-sized portions are! And slightly horrified that I used to eat that much, haha..
Checking out these recipes now!
I couldn’t agree more with you! I’m already eating vegetarian most of the time and I try more and more to buy meat locally, which is the hardest for me because when I go grocery shopping with my flatmate it’s easier to buy everything in the supermarket (especially for ham and sausages). However my flatmate starts to think about buying real good meat at the butcher. My bf thinks the same too! We already buy all of our vegetables at the farmers’ market, so we could to the same with meat! At the end, I would like to avoid supermarkets and only shop in markets and little shops. It’s more time consuming but the quality of your food is often better!
Now I’m even trying to eat vegan from time to time, and to buy my eggs and cheese from the producer too. I’m still experimenting, this is by far not easy for me beacause I love eggs, and there are some products that are hard to find outside supermarkets (I’m thinking about butter for example) but I know I’ll make it eventually.
This is really important for me to buy locally when possible, to help the farmers to get a good income (because supermarkets buy their stuff too cheap!), to support a local and sustainable agriculture. A local , mostly vegetarian (or vegan, even better!) diet is better for the planet, is cheaper and heathier so that’s a win! I wish that more people would understand this!
I think this is a very important message. I have found that Veganism is best for me, but I think more people should try to be Vegetarian more often. They may find it works well for them (and their wallets) to be Veggie most of the time!
Great picture!
I follow the ‘vegan before 6’ diet during the week – I started doing it to lose those last few pounds that are always hanging around but I’m still doing it 6 months later. It makes me feel really great, I’m never bloated and I have much more energy! What’s really fun is trying to come up with things I actually want to eat, as I don’t eat any of the processed vegan things like tofurkey or facon (just seems to be the antithesis of the whole point of it!).
Hanna’s Places is a green lifestyle magazine written by Hanna Ulatowski. It’s all about slowing down in a fast-paced society and finding ways to live a more sustainable, simple lifestyle.
June 23, 2014
love that picture! and boy, this is definitely a challenge for me. I’m really terrible about eating my fruits and veggies and really need a major overhaul for my diet.