CLIMATE CHANGE | ANIMALS | NUTRITION
Promising 4-Step Plan To Give Up Meat! But Actually, We Should Go Vegan
November is World Vegan Month.
For a long time this thought, you could also call it “guilty conscience”, has been lurking in the back of my mind. Because eating meat is not only unnecessary but also a rather selfish habit.
I’m not a vegan, and I am part of the problem.
Why Eating Meat Cannot Be a Matter of Personal Choice
Many people refer to the statement “live and let live”. However, this way of thinking is completely out of place here.
Apart from animal suffering, which has already been worked on in many countries during the last decades, we are also dealing with the effects that speed up climate change.
In the past, it would never have occurred to me to link meat consumption with global warming. Today, I know better, and the connection makes sense.
- Cattle in particular need large grazing spaces. There are neither forests nor wild meadows in these areas. What we need trees for should be clear to everyone by now. And wild meadows are an important habitat for small animals and insects.
➡️ The absence of these habitats leads to the extinction of species.
➡️ This in turn causes disruptions in the cycle of the ecosystem, on which other species of animal as well as plant origin depend. - Livestock feed has to be cultivated. We are therefore not only sacrificing valuable land for keeping animals, but additionally for feeding them.
- Cattle produce methane (CH4) in their stomachs. Methane pollutes the atmosphere, especially in the short term, and is about 25 times more harmful to the climate than CO2.
- Nitrogenous fertilizers in agriculture and animal husbandry release nitrous oxide (N2O) into the atmosphere, which is said to be even about 300x more harmful to the climate than CO2!
- The enormous water consumption resulting from animal husbandry should also not go unmentioned. A kilo of pork contains on average about 6,000 liters of water and a kilo of beef even more than 15,000 liters!
➡️ For comparison, a bathtub holds about 150–180 liters.
1st Step: More Compassion
I don’t remember how many decades I’ve been aware that it’s actually not right to eat meat.
Well, with regard to climate change, this has only really become clear to me in recent years. However, I have known for a long time that animals have to suffer because of our eating habits.
There may be proper animal husbandry to ease our conscience, and I don’t want to condemn anyone. Especially not readers I don’t know personally. As far as I am concerned, I do not buy cheap meat. But I cannot claim to always know exactly where the products come from or how animals are treated there.
For a long time, I said that I lacked the necessary empathy, so it didn’t really bother me. After all, I’ve never had much to do with animals in general.
But that’s probably where the problem lies.
I don’t deal with animals at all, so I don’t give them much thought.
So at this point, I want to set my first resolution:
- In the next few days, I will watch documentaries that deal with animal breeding and animal welfare. And at least one documentary today! So that this undertaking does not quietly disappear into “someday”….
👉 I would like to try to improve my empathy toward animals.
2nd Step: Minimize Temptation
I mention so far only meat. In fact, I can’t yet imagine actually giving up eggs or dairy products, although I would note here: never say never. But for now, I want to focus on meat.
I have already reduced it — for the sake of the climate. But can I really do without it completely?
It won’t be difficult for me to do without beef, the number one climate polluter among meats. Pork, however, makes me think about raw ham, which I actually like a lot. Not only does it contain a good amount of protein, but it’s also very low in fat.
But honestly? I can probably do without it.
I eat fish so rarely, it’s okay to leave it off the menu completely.
That leaves poultry.
The fact that beef is responsible for significantly more CO2 emissions doesn’t help with my discipline. I could just tell myself now what I’ve been telling myself for the last few months:
I’m already doing without beef, so why can’t I enjoy poultry once in a while?
I have tried some vegetarian alternatives in the past months, and they were surprisingly tasty. And how harmful the consumption of poultry really is, is something I should probably find out more about.
The fact is, giving up poultry will be by far the hardest thing for me to do.
I would like to simply stop buying meat now.
I live in a village and what I don’t buy beforehand in town, I don’t get spontaneously here either. In addition, I do not have a car, so it would be quite a practical solution.
If there were not my two men. More precisely, my husband and my son. Oh yes, and my adult son comes for lunch every day.
I could certainly convince my youngest, even if he would protest at first. But I think if I took the time, he would even understand why it is not good to eat meat.
But with the other two, I can totally forget it! So I go the other way and try to buy at least enough alternatives.
Cream cheese and cucumber on bread, seasoned with salt and pepper, is actually very tasty. Who needs ham for that? And from vegetables with potatoes, one becomes well sated, also without meat addition. Moreover, as a (now) slim 158 cm woman, I actually don’t have to eat much.
- So I think about “meat alternatives” and write them on a list for the next grocery shopping! For myself, I no longer buy anything containing meat.
3rd Step: Curiosity Towards Unknown Things
If you always eat the same thing, you’ll eventually get bored with it. I’ve often felt that way in the past. Especially since I still pay attention to the nutrients in the food. Because that way, some foods are out of the game from the start.
Maybe I just lack inspiration. So without further ado, straight to step 3:
- I’m open to unfamiliar recipes, and until the next time I go grocery shopping, I’m thinking about which foods I haven’t paid attention to yet. I want to keep my eyes open for appropriate recipes.
4th Step: Information
I’m a world champion when it comes to research and searching for information — or at least I feel like one. And well, where better to start than on Medium?
- Today, I’ll create a list of stories on the topic of “vegan”! And then see what I can learn from other writers.
Does that sound good?
And I’m planning a bit further! Because if I start collecting relevant articles now, I can share the best of them with you at the next opportunity! 👉 That’s what I call a win-win.
Recap
There are at least two convincing reasons to go vegan — or in my case — at least to give up meat:
- 🐾 Animal Suffering
- 🌍 Global Warming
But easier said than done. So starting today, here’s the 4-point plan:
- Better empathy 👉 I need to connect with animals.
- Meat abstinence 👉 I make a note of alternatives and no longer buy meat for myself.
- Enjoying culinary alternatives 👉 I collect new, unfamiliar recipes and try them out when I get the chance.
- Be informed 👉 I achieve this through research. The better informed I am, the more it supports what I’m trying to do.
Related organizations that campaign for a vegan diet are plentiful. One place to start, for example, would be The Vegan Society. The organization was already founded in 1944 in the United Kingdom and is thus one of the oldest in the world.
💬 Do you eat vegetarian or even vegan? Or are you planning to?
💬 Do you have any tips or recipes? Maybe there’s even an article you once wrote on the topic?
Share it in the comments!
