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There's no getting around it: meat production has a huge impact on the earth. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations says that the livestock sector is responsible for 18 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions globally, and that it affects water quality and biodiversity.
You could go the low-emissions vegetarian route, but if you love your meat too much to let it go (like some of us here at SmartPlanet), read on for ways to help you make decisions about meat that take into account both the welfare of the animals and the health of the environment.
1. Learn to Cook. You'll be able to efficiently use the meat you do buy, and avoid processed food and takeout. Plus, you have to face it -- uni's over and instant noodles won't cut it anymore. You can get a good start with Cook with Jamie: My Guide to Making You a Better Cook and The Fairtrade Cookbook.
2. Buy Humanely Raised Meat. A recent investigation by the Humane Society of the United States showed brutal conditions still in place at some factory slaughterhouses. And a report published by the Union of Concerned Scientists found that raising animals on a pasture instead of on a feedlot decreased soil erosion and water pollution, reduced the use of antibiotics, and improved animal health and welfare.
3. Purchase Meat with Less Packaging. According to the US Environmental Protection Agency, "packaging constitutes as much as one-third" of nonindustrial solid waste for most of the developed world. Meat is usually packaged with styrofoam trays, plastic wrap and paper products. Choose instead to purchase from places -- like a farmers' market or a butcher -- that wrap meat just in paper.
4. Use Your Leftovers. Save bones to make flavourful stock, keep necks and giblets for gravy, and set aside decent pieces of trim in the freezer to grind later. Use pork belly to make pancetta or fatback to render your own lard.
5. Buy Meat Direct. Farmers' markets, CSAs (Community Supported Agriculture), meat-buying clubs, and whole animal sharing are responsible, humane alternatives to factory-farmed meat. By connecting local farmers directly to consumers, these forms of distribution lighten meat's carbon footprint, eliminating extra transportation between farm and store and store and consumer.
6. Eat Less Meat. Scale back portion size and fill your plate with non-meat options. If a restaurant doesn't make the source of its meat clear, go meatless.
7. Spend More. Pasture-raised, organic and local meat will empty your wallet faster, but cheap meat costs a lot when you factor in its long-term effect on the environment and human health. It'll be worth it.
8. Support Your Local Butcher. Skilled butchers know their product. They can steer you towards what's from your area, give you tips on cooking grass-fed beef, and perhaps even help butcher an animal if you get a whole-animal share going with some friends.
9. If You're Going to Grab Fast Food, Choose Wisely. Some chains are more responsible than others when it comes to sourcing their meat. Leon serves free-range chicken and the Gourmet Burger Kitchen has signed a partnership with the organic and biodynamic farm at Laverstoke Park, and now serves wild boar and buffalo burgers.
10. Buy Meat from Animals Raised on Organic Feed. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations says that the synthetic fertiliser used to grow conventional feed for livestock produces more than three million tonnes of nitrogen emissions annually. And if you go organic you can avoid all sorts of other nasty chemicals.
31 March 2008 03:51pm
I disagree with number 11, I enjoy eating meat, but look to buy meat from humanely treated animals, which is not always easy when living in a city where butchers are few. Also going veggie isn't necessarily easier as you need to make sure you still get the various vitamins and minerals etc. that's in meat to ensure you get a balanced diet.
This is a good list for people who haven't really considered being a responsible carnivore before, but for me it doesn't give much more information that I already knew.
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