Chopbiscuit food 101: How you should eat {Meat, no meat, both}

Editors note: This is a series of posts on food, cooking and sustainable eating habits. We will explore the culture around food in this country and the little steps we can make to secure a laudable future in the world of provisions 

Chapter 2 - How you should eat {Meat, no meat, both)

 You are what you eat, right? The argument for the "eating elite" as been going on since, well, since man took his first bite. No other food topic is more divisive, and the emotion of this topic rivals that of abortion choice. Our food choices are based on many influences like your socio-economic status, religion, culture and personal choice.These close knit feelings are often preached to the vast consumers in a variety of outlets - as if you were voting in an election.

So, let's get to the world's most dangerous question - Meat, no meat or both?

As an omnivore I will probably have a biased position to choose the plethora of good fortune and options eating a balanced diet provides. Many brilliant folk, such as Michael Pollan have brought to light, the many benefits of eating this way. But, certain folks on both sides have brought credible arguments to their cause - so let's take a look.

Your Health

If you're a vegan, you're probably assuming meat is bad for you. It contains too much saturated fat for your body and makes you obese which is the root cause of a majority of health issues demoralizing our country: Colon cancer, diabetes and heart diseases. Often, these diseases are linked to meat diets and are higher in those who partake in red meat. You probably feel as if you're playing it safe by not jumping into the world of E-Coli, by limiting your exposure to these strains that are often found in CAFO's.

If you're an omnivore, you're probably of normal weight (assuming you don't eat too much processed foods) and assume vegans are a bit "scantily clad" in the weight category and look frail because of their lack of B12 in their diet. You assume meat is good for you and it carries a protein not available in plant based proteins. Plant based proteins cannot mimic the essential amino acids that are derived from meat. 

Culture

If you're a vegan, most likely you're attached to a particular mindset and moral code for your dietary choices. It is easy to extend the moral problem of eating living tissue to living vegetable tissue that also contains DNA, and the argument must lie between animal and the thought of it's "living" foundation. It has not yet been found that any organism has yet crossed the animal-vegetable divide, so the division is a valid and particularly important one.  The culture of vegans are generally routed in the basic ethical issues around if we should be eating human life? So, it's more of a lifestyle moral code that chooses their dietary habits. With the onset of multiple eating related illnesses, dietary needs and diseases, more people are flocking towards vegan diets to promote their own well being and healthy lifestyles.

If you're a omnivore, you're most likely adapted to a general populous eating culture. You choose to eat both plants and animals for a variety of reasons for taste, energy, fuel and society norms. For example, if I'm heading to a tailgate party with a bunch of my college buddies, you better believe we'll have several cuts of animal proteins on the grill with numerous refreshments to wash it down. It's normal to be an omnivore in today's society.  Most omnivores choose the variety to a particular need. After a long workout, you need those animal proteins and amino acids to recoup the energy burned. Most omnivores in today's society realize the health benefits of colorful greens, so we eat them as well for good dietary attributes.

Environment

If you're a vegan, you probably feel that you are not a part of the larger issue of animal cruelty, extinction and poor environmental feedlot practices. You've made choice to most likely be sustainable and aware of your environmental surroundings. Your carbon footprint is miniscule in comparison to the average omnivore.

Omnivores are eating species to extinction especially seafood like swordfish and bluefin tuna. Also, the land animals have a large carbon footprint that annually creates more greenhouse gases than our country's concerns with hybrid and electric cars. Soak that one in for a second.  Not only do feed animals consume a great deal of water, they also manage to pollute water supplies and water tables with the their continuous exhaust.

If you're an omnivore, you should really look at your practices around buying animal proteins. Unless you're buying 100% local, organic, grass fed beef from a micro-producer, it's stuff touting our purpose towards environmental stewardship.

How about a counterpoint -

Quick fact:  Rice creates seven times the atmospheric methane than animals. If you want to compare beef to soy acre for acre, go ahead and walk out onto an acre that was just plowed to make room for rows of soybean. The entire ecosystem, which could have been home to a million or more creatures, is now dead to all life outside of that particular product. Interesting, eh?

Summary

It's about finding common ground and non-partisan solutions for all dietary needs. For every fact or opinion debunking a myth about vegetarianism you'll find an equal debate about the omnivore population. We debate these facts in a very partisan viewpoint.  Eating food is a one of the basic necessities of life, developed over millions of years of cultural habits and eco-systems. Rather than focusing on what you're currently eating, focus on why people eat and their surroundings prior to throwing judgements.

As in religion, when people argue from Dogma - it's impossible to find a middle ground.


Previous Posts:

Chopbiscuit food 101: Eating Seasonally