Sustainable Meat – 6 Top Tips
In my previous blog I looked at the worst food offenders from an environmental point of view. The worst were factory-farmed beef, cheese, pork and farmed salmon, according to a report by the EWG.
With climate change top-of-mind, eating less meat can really help to reduce your carbon footprint.
We can all reduce our impact – AND eat more healthily. Here are my Top Tips:
1. Go Meatless!
No, I am NOT saying everyone should go vegetarian (unless you want to of course!). But Meatless Mondays are gaining in popularity across the developed world, in homes, schools, restaurants and canteens.
Just one day a week – it’s not difficult, and it’s a lot more fun than I originally thought it would be. I’ve tried all sorts of interesting new recipes and I feel better too.
Do like Oprah Winfrey and Sir Paul McCartney and go Meatless Mondays! (Here’s a free challenge with weekly emails to help you eat more plant-based meals).
2. Eat Sustainable Meat
When you do eat meat, eat sustainable meat. Meat, eggs and dairy products that are genuinely organic, humane and/or grass-fed are generally the least environmentally damaging. Overall, these products are the least harmful, most ethical choices, and in some cases are more nutritious too.
when you buy less meat overall you can afford healthier, greener meat
Tip: If you can’t find these healthier products, ask your store to carry them.
Tip: Consult EatWild.com to find a nearby store with greener, pasture-raised meat (for USA, Canada, Bahamas, Malaysia and Panama). For other countries, search online for pasture-raised meat + your country e.g. pasture-raised beef Australia or organic pork UK.
Eating healthy meat in moderation is a healthy source of protein and vitamins for us. Eating too much red meat and too much processed meat, is not.
Avoid lunchmeats, hot dogs, pre-packed smoked meats and chicken nuggets.
3. Make Sustainable Meat a Side Dish
In addition to Meatless Mondays, you could also consider making meat a side-dish rather than the main attraction on another one or two days a week. Your body will thank you if you currently eat too much meat.
4. Eat more Plants
You can get great nutrition from beans and legumes, nuts and grains. They’re low-impact so you’ll be helping the environment as well as your own health. And saving money too! (A regular commenter on this site recently moved to Costa Rica and eats more sustainably. She’s reaping the benefits!) (and loving Costa Rica!).
5. Eat Lower-Fat Dairy
The following dairy products are lower in fat (so they’re healthier, and good if you’re on a diet) and have a lower environmental impact: cream cheese, fresh mozzarella, gouda, feta, cottage cheese, plain yoghurt. (But avoid low-fat or fat-free versions, because they are heavily processed). 
6. Waste Less Meat
An astonishing statistic is that 20% of the environmental impact of meat comes from wasted meat (edible meat that is thrown away). Buy the right amounts for you, and eat what you buy. Order a smaller portion in a restaurant. Sustainable meat involves less waste.
There are many compelling health, environmental and animal-welfare reasons to eat sustainable meat. It may cost more, but when you buy less meat overall you can afford healthier, greener meat.
Next: What about the Taste?
Related Articles:
Sustainable Meat – How does it Taste?
Photo Credits: close-up=microsoft / istockphoto.
Cattle in field – microsoft
What about the taste, she says??? I know I am jumping the gun here, but I just cant wait! When I first came to Costa Rica, I kept asking what they were doing to the chicken and eggs to make them taste so good. Everyone was laughing at me. They werent doing anything in the cooking process…just raising the chickens naturally…but oh what a difference in taste!!
Sonya Lenzo
LOL! Jumping the gun or not, yes, I believe there’s a taste difference, and I prefer it too, but not everyone does……
Going veggie for one day is easy and good for you. My husband and I do that and it is fun to get creative on a new vegetable dish that we haven’t tried before.
Yours In Health!
Dr. Wendy
Absolutely!
I’m going to give Meatless Monday’s a shot and see how it goes! I definitely think I could use less meat in my diet
Clare,
I like your point of view about “going meatless”. The meat of happy animals should taste better. I heard a judge at the state fair (my daughter is with FFA) that our goat had a “good body memory”. This was the first time I realized that animals are like us. Anything that happens is manifested in the body. I don’t keep our goats in a pen. They are out in the pasture. 🙂
In addition to “Meatless Mondays” I don’t think that we need to have meat for breakfast, lunch and dinner. If we just eliminated meat from one meal a day that would be seven meals which would add up to a little over two meatless Mondays.
Yours In Health!
G.E. Moon II
Meat for breakfast, lunch AND dinner? Wow! You’re absolutely right, if that’s the case, then eliminating meat from one meal a day would definitely make a difference!
I definetly went meatless today. I would love to be vegetarian. Have tried it many time…but the Spanish jamónhas “umami” what the japanese call the 5th taste…
Impossible not to like it…and it is eco-friendly as the meat is from animals that live free and have only eaten nuts in their life.
It is not difficult to “go meatless” yet I prefer to not institutionalize it. The Zen Master is one who eats when he is hungry and drinks when he is thirsty. (I am amused by people who eat by the clock.)
[…] Next: easy (and affordable!) ways to reduce your impact with sustainable meat. […]
great idea to help people start to make adjustments to thier unconscious eating habits
Meatless Monday’s sounds good… at the same time maybe giving the digestive tract a little break.
Admittedly, I eat way way way too much bacon… *bad Sabrina*
Thanks for the links to those websites. I’ll check them out.
Sabrina Peterson, NASM CPT, CES
Meatless Mondays is something I can do…
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