Day 1 of restricting my meat consumption to 1 meal a day.
Day 1 of restricting my beef consumption to 1 day a month.
I like to eat meat, be it beef, chicken, fish, or whatever other kind of animal. Unfortunately, even ignoring the inherently debatable ethics of eating meat when unnecessary, there are lots of other concerns about it surrounding sustainability, the abysmal living conditions animals are raised in, and problematic “meat culture” in America in particular.
I can’t recall the source of this statistic, but apparently if all countries ate meat as often as it is done in America, the entire world’s landmass (and PLUS some) would need to be devoted entirely to supplying this demand. This is obviously unsustainable, and I often feel guilty, as an American, that we can behave in excess that the rest of the world can never be allowed to model after.
I’ve been following the “Beef days” idea (coined by Hank and John Green) for probably the past year or so. Beef is BY FAR the worst for the environment and most costly to produce, so the idea behind the movement is to restrict beef consumption to only a couple “beef day” holidays a year. These beef days can be an excuse to share a meal with your family or friends, like a homemade holiday! I used to eat beef pretty regularly, so I’ve been trying to keep my “beef days” down to once a month, at most. I find that the assurance of a kind of cheat day makes it much easier to try out this new kind of diet, rather than swearing it off for life.
As I’ve said, Americans eat a lot of meat. I usually eat it every meal. So, starting today, I’m gonna try to restrict my meat consumption to one meal a day. I, frankly, am not strong enough (right now) to become a vegetarian or vegan, but simply pacing my consumption in a moderate way—that, if the entire world ate as I do, nothing would break—might be a lot more doable for the wider public as well.
I wanna do this on here, semi-publicly, so if I break my rules, I’ll hopefully feel enough shame to not do it again. And, I want to invite anyone else who is able to do this with me!! The first challenge is tagged #beefdays , but I don’t really have a tag for the second one. Cheers!
