I grew up amongst a family of quasi-vegetarian, white-meat eating fish-lovers. As a child, my only exposure to red meat occurred at the occasional block party or at roadside fast-food pit stops. I actually disliked meat in general. It wasn’t until about two years ago when my desire for red meat blossomed – ironically amidst my Environmental Ecology education at UCSD.
The more I became certain that the best lifestyle choice for the environment was to avoid meat at all costs, the more I craved a delicious burger, or steak, or kabob…the mere thought of juicy red meat makes me salivate! Cattle release the vast majority of methane (a greenhouse gas) into the atmosphere annually. Also, to satisfy the US’s increasing hunger for red meat, ranchers destroy detrimental amounts of rain forest in Latin and South America to accommodate cattle farms. Beef raising practices are usually inhumane and as technology improves, old sustainable farming techniques have been replaced with thoughtless means of mass-production. Indeed, meat, a carnivore’s delight, became my cardinal sin! (more)
There are, however, alternative means of beef production that alleviate environmental impact as well as personal guilt. Grass fed, organic beef denotes that pasture foraging composes most of the animal’s diet and that the feed is organic. Choosing grass-fed helps support smaller farms that are more interested in raising cows in a sustainable manner. Furthermore, pasture-raised cattle produce leaner, tenderer meat that is also higher in amino acids than its grain-fed counterpart.
You can find grass-fed meat in your local supermarket (Whole Foods, Henry’s, etc.) but I would strongly suggest you check out localharvest.org. Local Harvest lists small-scale farms by location so you can support your community while indulging in environmentally friendly produce and meat.
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