Day 7: Make more meal choices free of animal products
Originally published: 7th April, 2020 on Facebook and Instagram
MAKE MORE MEAL CHOICES FREE OF ANIMAL PRODUCTS
OK, We’re getting into touchy topics. Hear me out! I am not asking you to go vegan or vegetarian overnight.
For the sake of the environment (and your personal health), it would be awesome if you could consider having, say, one meal per day (or a few meals in the week) without (or low) animal products in it. That’s no( or low) dairy, no(or low) poultry, no(or low) meat. We’re here to do this #imperfectlyperfect, remember?
Cattle release tremendous amounts of methane into the atmosphere. Methane is 300 times more potent than carbon dioxide in heating up the planet! According to PETA, it takes 2,400 gallons of water to produce 1 pound of meat, while it takes 25 gallons of water to grow 1 pound of wheat. Animal farms and slaughter houses are intense sources of greenhouse gases, water pollution and even air pollution. Animal cruelty (in industrial settings) is an important factor too.
Another point of concern is the use of only “prime cuts” or muscles but not the organs and lower grade cuts. I remember reading somewhere that, in the past, when animals were slaughtered for food, there was a sense of respect. It is losing life to give us life… every part of that animal was used for a purpose. It would be nice to return to such a time and know where our food really comes from [i.e., not just from the refrigerator section of the grocery store].
It’s a great way to test out new products and recipes. I’ve been testing out some options to make this switch and so far, the results have been pretty interesting.
(1) Cost wise, it’s been similar. So, vegan options are no longer expensive.
(2) Fresh fruit and vegetables are difficult to find and store properly, especially in winter and now, during the virus. And also, some veggies are only available in fixed (large) quantities in the US and I am always worried they will go bad. My aunt gave me some good advice on chopping them up and freezing them.
(3) Just as an experiment, I tried out vegan milk. So far so good. I found that they need low heat and a specific way to be heated to taste good. My friend informed me that soy milk is not sustainable and oat milk is the more ecofriendly option. I found vegan milk has added sugar, so I have to be bit careful to buy ones that have slightly low sugar. They work very well with coffee (in fact, I like the flavor) but I am still struggling to find a good substitute for chai.
I like to try new things and, if not for sustainability reasons, this has gotten me excited to just trying them. My new “thing” is chia seed pudding with oat milk, cocoa and maple syrup. So yummy, you guys!
Have you guys explored this space?
