Should we eat meat?
This is a hard question to answer. I personally love eating red meat. I was brought up in former Yugoslavia (mostly in Croatia) on cured meat and red meat (mostly pork). I love eating salami, prosciutto, ham etc.
The curing method was invented to be able to store meat during the months when it wasn’t readily available. Animals were raised during spring, summer and autumn and usually, at the end of autumn, they were ready to be processed into meat. I still remember my grandparents preparing meat. The whole animal was utilised for food, from intestines for sausage casings to fat for cooking. Some parts were of course used for creating cured meat (sausages, prosciutto, blood sausages and others).
These days we are aware that the consumption of red meat is associated with increased risk of developing certain cancers, especially smoked or barbecued meat. Some say that additives used during curing of meat increase the risk, but that’s uncertain. Some companies use accelerated curing processes, and others process the meat in an old-fashioned way using salt, a bit of wood smoke and air drying it for extended times.
Apart from the increased risk of cancer, there is also a lot of talk about the environmental impact of meat consumption. I think this discussion is equally, if not more important.
Consumption of meat doesn’t just leave a huge carbon footprint but affects water and land usage as well as produces pollution and ocean acidification. Vegetable production by far surpasses meat in its sustainability.
What should we do?
In my opinion, we should avoid vilifying food. For centuries people have done it to various foods like eggs, fats, sugar, dairy, and so on. It seems like meat is now in the centre of attention.
I agree that in the Western world, we eat an excessive amount of meat. We do not need to eat so much animal protein. I also think that farming methods of both vegetable and meat production, which have a much lower environmental impact should be developed. For example, the use of weed killers, like Round-Up, is more damaging to living organisms (including humans) than meat. Another issue is that we produce and dispose of too much food.
These are my efforts in minimising my health risks and environmental impact:
Consume meat 1-2 times per week only.
Include more unprocessed and raw foods in my diet.
Limit highly processed food that can sit on the shelves for years (biscuits, canned food, prepared food).
Eat all types of food in moderation. We need to stop vilifying food. No food is bad for you if consumed in moderation.
Buy local and seasonal food that has not been transported for long distances (which increases the carbon footprint). I also dry my own apples, plums and apricots when in season and use them for snacks.
Minimise plastic use for food storage and preparation. It is known that certain chemicals leach into food during heating, especially microwave heating.
Minimise food waste. I create a meal cooking plan weekly and buy ingredients for that week only. If there are any leftover vegetables, they are used for meals the week after.
Avoid emotional eating (when I crave food to make myself feel better).
I would be interested to see studies done on the effects of food additives and cancer and illness development. I would also like to see what impact different weed killers and fertilisers make on our health and environment.
So do I eat red meat? I do but have considerably reduced my red meat consumption.
If you don’t like red meat, you most likely already avoid it, but if you do, then consider reducing the amount you eat for both the environment and your health.