---
manual
greening it your guide to greener living
"Too chicken to go vegetarian?"
A recent batch of ads sponsored by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) asks this question.
Though PETA's primary concern is for the animals, eating meat is actually deadly for the planet, too. One of the leading contributors to climate change is the amount of methane gas released by current methods of agricultural production.
Methane is the chief component of natural gas, but the place that it's coming from these days seems anything but natural. One
cow farts and burps out more than 63 gallons of methane daily. Multiply that by the 1.3 billion cattle in the world, and the planet is going to need a bit more than a dose of Gas-X to cure this problem.
It can be a lonely world come mealtime for us vegetarians in the Midwest (motto: Beef, it's what's for every meal of the day). Even food that appears to be vegetarian is sometimes cooked in animal fat or contains traces of meat.
Not surprisingly, several so-called environmentalists have had trouble addressing this problem. Not once in his documentary, An Inconvenient Truth, did Al Gore mention methane, probably because it's the most inconvenient truth of all. Your flesh-eating tendencies are killing the planet (among other things).
Fortunately, dining services on campus have been receptive to the needs of vegetarians and others looking for the occasional meat-free meal.
The beef industry gets a prime cut of the blame, but the other industries are guilty as well. The production of two pounds of beef releases more greenhouse gases than taking a three-hour drive in your Hummer while leaving the lights on back home, according to New Science magazine.
"We are always looking for vegetarian recipes," says Nona Golledge, director of KU Dining Services. "Even though someone may not classify themselves as a vegetarian, they still want healthier options."
Golledge estimates that about 26 percent of Dining Services' 5,000 recipes are vegetarian.
For students who don't want to make the full transition, residence hall dining facilities serve soy Boca burgers and black bean burgers.
KU Dining Services recently introduced organic foods into select venues, and meat from Local Burger—a restaurant that serves only locally raised meat—is offered In The Market in the Kansas Union. As consumers, we should buy organic and local products whenever possible because doing so cuts down on pollution while also supporting our local economy.
On-campus dining selections have a huge influence on what students eat. Golledge says that on an average day, the 20 on-campus dining operations serve about 10,000 people.
Becoming a full-fledged vegetarian is a bold and difficult move. I don't know how many more films like Fast Food Nation and Super Size Me or visits to TheMeatrix.com it will take for people to make the move to eating less meat, but we can't keep farting around with such a serious environmental problem.
It took me 20 years, but making the transition to vegetarian, vegan or simply to eating less meat doesn't have to take you until the cows come home.
1. Read.
with anything new, read as much about it as you can. Check out books from the library or Web sites like www.GoVeg.com.
2. Find new recipes, or revise the old.
Thanks to the Internet, you no longer have to buy new cookbooks to start enjoying a new menu.There is a buffet of vegetarian recipes online.For your favorite recipes, try using meatless substitutes like Boca or Morningstar Farms brands.
3. Don't go cold turkey.
Start by eliminating red meat or other meats that you don't eat frequently.Red meat is generally considered the least healthy, but a gradual transition into vegetarianism usually works better than giving everything up at once.
4. Get enough protein.
A common misconception about vegetarians is that they don't get enough protein,but meat eaters actually consume more protein than they need. Besides meat,protein is found in nuts,seeds beans and soy.Try supplements if you are worried about not getting enough nutrients.
5. Enjoy.
Being a vegetarian is not supposed to be torture, although it may be difficult to give up your favorite meat-filled foods initially. If you feel like you're depriving yourself, you'll stick with vegetarianism about as long as it takes you to say the word. Instead, know that you're doing something good for yourself and the planet while trying new, great-tasting foods in the process.
Source: www.zenhabits.net
08 02.21.2008 VOL.5 ISS.21
interesting fact: The Swedish Chef's gibberish gained a life of its own in 1992 with the creation of a Unix filter capable of converting standard English to Chefspeak. -muppet.wika.com
Contact the writer:
lkeith@kansan.com