Eating Locally vs Global Warming

[Sibling Chatty]

I waited until I had some tests back to respond to this.

I think that the chief lesson to be learned from all this, is reduce the meat intake across the board.

Even if it's factory-veggies, they are typically more healthy than any meat source.

And fishes are becoming more problematic, too:  the wild-caught ones are top-predators.  That means that they have concentrated amounts of toxic metals, like lead and mercury.   (metals tend to concentrate with each step in the food-chain.  Top wild-caught fishes are at typically 3 or 4 removes from the base-level plankton, thus concentrating metals 4 or 5 times what would be in the water itself.)

So. 

Limit your beef to 1 or 2 times a week.   Limit all meats to 3 to 5 times a week.   Vary your diet, vary your sources (to eliminate potential contaminations to 1 or 2 meals in a weekly cycle).

Try to eat locally, if possible to reduce the transportation impact.

Try for organic, if available. 

In doing so, when you DO eat beef, you can easily "afford" the better-tasting grass-cows as opposed to the grain-fed varieties (if available, again).   Your TOTAL impact will be so much lower than most, that an occasional burger or steak will not affect the total picture at all.  In fact, your contribution is easily lost in the statistical noise of a varied and active planet full of humans.

At least, you'll be more healthy, and your food will taste more Interesting. 

As for the original study, the link to the original article cites it, I think-- post #1.

Fine , if it works for you. Doesn't work for me. I CANNOT exist without a LOT of high quality proteins. I cannot digest a lot of plant proteins. I cannot eat eggs, and for some reason as yet unspecified, certain fish (salmon especially) comes back us just as fast as it goes down.

My need for protein, balanced with my inability to eat much at any given time means MEAT and chicken, a little fish...or I look like I've been severely beaten.

Anemia isn't fun. Looks like I'll have it for life.

[Sibling Zono (anon1mat0)]

Animal tissue is easier for the body to process re: protein. When my wife was pregnant she had a bit of anemia and the physician (my best friend's brother) told us that in order to get the iron she needed the best thing she could do was to eat lots of liver. He explained to us that while veggies have iron (spinach, broccoli) the compounds are harder to process and most of it just goes through, as opposed to animal sources.

She ate liver for all her pregnancy... and at the end she pretty much hated it. 

[Aphos]

[Darlica]

There are and always will be people with special needs when it comes to food and those needs should be met.
However, most people at least for a good deal of their life doesn't have a special needs like yours or like a pregnant women risking anaemia. As it is most people in the western world doesn't eat enough vegetables to have a healthy and balanced diet but the problem from the human health point of view isn't the meat itself, it's the size of the portions and the fatty condiments we like to eat with the meat.

[Sibling Zono (anon1mat0)]

Rumble³!

Now the problem is that I love animal protein, I'm trying to eat less red meats but it is harder than it seems.

[Sibling Chatty]

Back before I turned into the Anemia Queen, I did the 'plate division' thing. I can't find it now, but the basic concept was that the space on the plate HAD to be portioned off for uncooked produce first (salad, fruit, etc), produce (cooked) second (veggies of all kind, must be at least two), grains and starches are #3 on the list, grains better than most 'other starches' (taters and pasta, but ya get bonus points for whole wheat pasta) THEN meat as #4 on the priority list.

Fats, oils and sweets were allowed a tiny dot in the middle of the plate.

My new reality. I can manage 2-3 ounces of meat, an ounce or two of a vegetable and that's it. MAYBE a repeat later on, if I eat the first few ounces early enough. Today, I had a child's size hamburger patty and 11 green beans. I'm supposed to eat again. NOT gonna happen...

(Can SOMEBODY explain to me how I can eat this way 90% of the time and still weigh over 300 pounds? 'Cause I'd really like to know...)

Big splurge. Last week I ate two Amaretto Milano Cookies. In ONE day. Damn near had a blood pressure and a pulse for a while there...

[Scriblerus the Philosophe]

One of nature's great mysteries?

I've cut to a straight vegetarian diet, pretty much. In the last couple months, I've deviated once--for a sausage and pepper/onion sandwich.

Zono, I'm not sure if it's the taste or the protein you're missing the most. I found last summer (during my forced vegetarian period) that I was getting serious protein cravings. If I ate beans or cheese or whatever, I no longer missed meat.
You can't really replace the taste, though.

Hoped that helped a little with cutting down.

[Aggie]

It's a bit of an acclimatization process, I think...  I've been eating less red meat and don't seem to want it as much.  I tend to crave beans or lentils more than beef now.  I do crave chicken if I haven't eaten it for a while.   I don't seem to ever get real cravings for either fish or tofu, not sure if it's because we eat them often enough...  sometimes I will want to eat either of those two because I just don't want to eat any other protein option.

A moot point this week as I am in the field and eating whatever is available at meal time or convenient to buy for lunches.

[Sibling Zono (anon1mat0)]

Oh, I do crave cheese (and grain carbs like bread, rice, or pasta  ), but the thing is that if I don't eat meat (white or red) in my lunch I feel the hole.

I guess I could train my body, is.... just... too.... hard.... must... resist... [munch, munch]