By Cara George, with Humanitas Global Development
With the upcoming primaries and election, one of the hot topics is bound to be climate change. While it’s important to pressure politicians to take large measures, we often overlook the small things that we ourselves can do for a big impact on saving the environment, besides carrying around a trendy water bottle or colorful canvas grocery bags. Although we and our readers tend to work more on the macro, wide area of impact project side, there is still very much the desire to take part in smaller-scale actions such as reducing meat consumption.
I recently re-visited a TED talk that I’d watched a while back about becoming a “Weekday vegetarian” (Watch VIDEO here: Graham Hill: Why I'm a weekday vegetarian) and through some Google searches, have seen a lot of material surrounding the subject. Whether for better health, environmental reasons, animal rights, money savings, or a ton of other reasons, many people take the plunge to become full-fledged vegetarians, or vegans. Yet, there are some of us that just can’t seem to let go of a good piece of fried chicken, the occasional (or not-so-occasional) juicy cheeseburger, and your great aunt’s famous roast at family gatherings.
As a society we love labels – just look at all the options on your facebook to declare your relationship status. But labels can be very excluding and inflexible. There’s no label for “I try to eat vegetarian but if you offer me a bite of your shrimp tempura, I can’t say no.” The idea behind “weekday vegetarianism” is just what it sounds like – not giving up on your favorite meat options, yet making a commitment to lower your meat intake.
Proper nutrition must accompany decreased meat intake to account for a healthy balance in diet. The Vegetarian Resource Group offers suggestions to fortify your intake of iron, calcium, and other essential vitamins and minerals commonly consumed through meat. It is also important to be aware of how certain food combinations increase or block nutrient absorption (such as calcium blocking absorption of iron).
What is your take on reducing meat consumption? We at the Hunger and Undernutrition Blog want to hear your stories or advice!
