Meatless Fridays?

Saw a piece this morning on that money/finance show on CNN with a guest spot by the writer of 'The End of Food'. (Sorry, I'm the world's worst at remembering names.)

Anyway, he mentioned the correlation with beef consumption and corn. 8 lbs of corn feed = 1 lb of beef.
Said if Americans and other big beef consumers would fore go beef, *only one day a week*, it would actually impact the supply of corn and the inflationary price of both. And so on and so forth, economically.

I grew up Catholic and thought, geez meatless Fridays used to be part of everyday life back when. Didn't seem like a big deal. Granted, fish sticks in those days were pretty bizarre, but that's another issue.

Do you think this simple, weekly choice would have a chance in today's culture? One day a week sure seems doable.

didn't they do meatless AND wheatless days during WWI?

I usually go 2-3 days per week with no meat, but I could add in another one. Hell, if people even cut their portion sizes in half, it would help. I got a cheeseburger the other day and it was SEVEN OUNCES. I couldn't eat it all. 4 ounces would have been plenty. It's bad enough people have to eat meat every day, but worse to think of the giant, unfinished portions we all take for granted.

As a nation, we've confused necessity with abundance. Mind you, it's worth bearing in mind that while meat takes more resources to produce than vegetables etc., it also delivers a lot more nutrition in a compact package. You can replace that protein etc. with non-meat products, but you need to eat quite a bit to get what you need, so it's swings and roundabouts. If meat wasn't an efficient food source carnivorous behavior wouldn't have evolved as widely as it has.

I just about cry at the amount of food that gets sent back at restaurants. I was travelling last week and couldn't take leftovers home. It's sickening how much uneaten food I sent back.

ordinary carnivores don't work to grow food for animals they eat.

Eating too much meat is bad for your health and the environment. That doesn't mean all meat production is bad, or all eating of meat. That is all.

In fact, I have a feeling it won't stop with just one day a week.

I was surprised and happy to see it.

And I hated fish sticks so made due with tuna or peanut butter sandwiches.

Still do, but I don't buy them, as they're usually high in fat. But I'll take grilled fish any day! (What I really hated was the stewed tomatoes.)

I agree with the poster above who said we've confused necessity with abundance. Very true. I sometimes cringe when I see the huge portions served up at restaurants. Yes, I often take home what I can't eat, but many people don't. It's either thrown out or shows up on your hips! :( We're trying to cut back on red meat, eating more fish or poultry. Since my husband's system doesn't seem to agree with chicken, we've found that game hens are a great substitute for that.

When my mother would get up to refill the veggie bowl, my step-father would look at me inquiringly & I would give a quick nod. He would stab my meat & quickly transfer it to his plate. Viola! My least favorite part of the meal was gone! The peas, however, I had to deal with on my own.

When I first went veg the one dish I missed the most was my tuna casserole.

who are these people who eat steak and hamburger every day? seriously?

I buy it in bulk, as much as I can. Break it down and freeze portions for later use. Try and throw no leftover away - make it into "something else", etc.

But his idea of a meatless day - consciously chosen - was a reminder.

...so, even though meat on Friday is permitted for the average layperson, our Rule still requires that we abstain from meat on Fridays (except for Christmas and Easter seasons and any major holy day that falls on a Friday). It doesn't constitute a huge sacrifice in my life, even though I wind up consuming a lot of fish tacos. ;-) And note that this suggestion is only to abstain from beef, not all meat as the former religious practices dictated.

But I think the same could apply to pork and chicken to some extent.

And would that we had fish tacos growing up...;)

On fridays I only eat food that came from within fifty miles of where I live. Since I get my meat from a ranch outside of town, I still eat meat.

Don't worry about saving everyone- Bush won't let you do it, and he has Blackwater.

"Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die!"

I thought I was a world class carnivore. It sounds like I'm practically vegan. :-)

I try to have one or two beef meals a week. Some weeks have a special occasion like a barbecue at an old friend's house, but under normal circumstances it's a burger on the weekend. Tuna, PB&J, pasta w/ sauce, raisin bran type cereal, salad, etc. for the rest of the weekend.

who are all these people who can afford to eat that much beef? we live in chicken country and believe you mean, we make that chicken LAST

The writer focused on beef since it's such a huge pressure on feed, more so than the others.

he's about 250 pounds overweight, has a pacemaker, kidney stones, gallbladder attacks, Diabetes, sleep apnea, high blood pressure, and skin rashes...but he thinks that those problems are just due to old age and have nothing to do with his diet. :-(

Humans can eat meat, but we did not evolve to consume it as our primary source of food. We are omnivores, not carnivores.

Yes, a tremendous amount of our agriculture goes towards supporting meat production. If half of that corn and soy were grown for human consumption, there would be more than enough food to go around, much less obesity, significantly fewer incidents of catastrophic cardio-vascular disease and an incredible drop in ground, water and air pollution.

For years, I have tried to limit myself to having meat products -- eggs, dairy, flesh -- only 5 to 7 meals out of a week's 24. I didn't find it that hard to do. But even just one meatless meal a week will make a difference, especially if you can get your friends to do the same.

the last thing people need to be eating is more cheap carbohydrate and specifically not more cheap corn products

we have a metabolic syndrome/diabetes epidemic raging even as i type

a man i know went suddenly blind from diabetes just this month, another of the many victims i've personally known

eating more corn and soy is not the answer, but esp. not eating more corn, we already eat too much!

I have a metabolic disorder AND insulin resistance.

I eat primarily lean protein and greens. Some flourless bread. Small amounts of fruit. Nuts.

It works for me, according to my semi-annual blood tests.

I do eat some soy. Not a lot.

What I need is not to eat more grain, but to find more non-meat sources of protein.

In one of the "Zone" diet books, Dr. Barry Sears writes that, based on autopsies of mummies, it is known that the ancient Egyptians had many of the diseases that are prevalent today, i.e., heart disease, diabetes, etc. This was due to a diet high in grains. Corn is one of those vegetables that you should eat in limited quantities.

heart disease or liver failure.

Met a Vegetarian bodybuilder and her husband last week. The diet change actually saved his life



I spent the week in Amherst, MA at a workshop for professional illustrators. My work station was right next to artist/ bodybuilder Julie Bell and right behind her husband, Boris Vallejo. Julie has been a Vegetarian for most of her 50 years and still looks pretty much like this:




Her husband, Boris, is 67. 12 years ago his cholesterol levels were 265 mg/dl and his liver function was declining. His wife convinced him to go on a "clean" vegetarian diet and he adapted to it very quickly. Within a year his liver was healthy and functioning normally, while his cholesterol levels are now on the low side! He's fit and energetic; in fact, he easily kept up with the rest of us last week during our grueling 9am-midnight schedules. He did tell me that he believes that medication is sometimes necessary for some medical conditions, though he believes that dietary changes are often the least risky and most beneficial first action to take. Now, if I could only get my 67 year old, 450 pound sedentary all-meat-and-dairy diet father to adopt the same philosophy... as it is I don't think that he's long for this world. :-(

Do lots of people have beef every day? I certainly don't, but when I was growing up we had lots of chicken, pork chops, ham, spam, and more chicken. I know we had a fair amount of pot roast, lasagna, hamburger helper, meatloaf, etc., but I remember lots of chicken too.

I can skip beef pretty much every day and I do.

in addition to Fridays. Now I almost never eat meat and I don't miss it. I'm not 100% vegetarian, but I'm almost there.

They really had very little meat in them and lots of noodles or rice as a stretcher with vegetables and were usually bound together with Campbell's soap and/or cheese. Most were pretty awful, but they were simple one dish meals and a clever cook could feed a large family with only a pound of hamburger or other animal product. Maybe these could be updated, without the sodium rich soup bases, into healthier family meals. My favorite was a pasta and hamburger concoction bound together with tomato sauce and italian cheeses. There was very little meat but just enough to make it tasty.

While casseroles were suitable for their day, I would much rather have a nice stir-fry or tomato sandwich or veggie soup or salad or ... well, just about anything, honestly.

more pasta, crackers, noodles, rice is not the answer unless we assume the point is just to fill bellies with no concern about human health

considered healthy, but the sodium, fat and hidden sugars that caused the underlying health problems. Also, women used lard for pie crust and biscuits and corn syrup often instead of more expensive sugar. I still make an updated tuna casserole with noodles, white sauce and fresh mushrooms instead of the Cream of Mushroom soup.

lard and butter are healthier than vegetable oil margerine. And - in fact, a little bit of saturated fat in the diet is good for the brains. Very little - nothing like what Americans get.

A can of tuna... some celery... some cashews... can of cream of mushroom soup... some crispy Chinese noodles... I loved that stuff!

We need a DU cookbook;)

Need to find the recipe again, though I'd be the only one here who'd eat it.

Mom also made some sort of cheese thing. Baked in a pan, cheddar cheese, but sort of a quiche texture. She lost the recipe years ago, but when it was just us kids, she'd make that and I loved it!

I have plans to go out to dinner tonight.
I'll make sure I order as low impact a meal as possible.
I don't know yet where we'll be eating, but I'll make sure it's one of the places owned and run by locals. I'll try to order items that weren't shipped too far. Local wine, etc. There should be some night-life tonight, so rather than go to a blockbuster movie, we'll catch a local band. Keep it simple.

Enjoy your Friday night!

We'd be able to feed more people with less land and have room left over for switchgrass biofuels.

and rarely eat beef. the hubby won't touch it if the cows were grain-fed (corn is really bad for the animal - http://www.foodrevolution.org/grassfedbeef.htm), given antibiotics, and/or from a major producer. that leaves us organic grass-fed beef, usually bought from a local producer, which is too expensive on our budget.

I'll make turkey burgers and used ground turkey in things like tacos and chili.

It's very good for you and very low in fat.

without beef, I'm a little nervous about red meat of any kind.

Always hated lamb with a vengeance, and except for a very occasional slice of bacon or a sneak of a slice of pepperoni (that doesn't make the tummy happy, but I still love the taste!) I can live without red meat entirely and not miss it a bit.

I like poultry, I like fish and seafood (well the kind that isn't slurpy... shudder... or uncooked, ...shudder). And with my addiction to all things dairy, I'm pretty well covered!

Maybe someday I'll get adventurous and give it a try though - thanks to you!

we buy bison regularly from a nearby farm for cheap. that is our main source of red meat. and it is delicious!!!!!

It's interesting to note that the better pet foods also do not have corn and grains.

The numbers of farms around the country raising grass-fed livestock is growing, as people are demanding it more. There are several here in VA. Bison is an excellent source of low-fat protein (less fat than fish). We love it, and have it at least once a week. The American Bison Association has very strict rules about how it is raised; no growth hormones, etc. It's probably one of the healthiest red meats you can eat, and very nutritious. I'm finding as I get older that my digestive system does not tolerate fatty foods, including meat, very well. So I highly recommend bison.

are encouraged to eat basically a vegan diet on most Wednesdays and Fridays (no meat, fish, eggs or dairy -- and no alcohol), and during Great Lent and several other shorter annual fasts. The purpose of it is to learn self-control, cultivate compassion for the hungry and suffering, and develop spiritual strength; it's considered spiritual exercise. I'm not particularly strict in my own practices, but find it very easy to at least give up meat two days a week.

:)

Now that our kids are getting older, we're going to try fasting more things during the fasts.

in a year or so -- when I can calm down (I hope!) and plan a little better. I want to make more soups, and generally eat simpler, healthier food.

I tried doing the full lenton fast a few years ago and it really had a profound effect on me. I believe my heart truly began to soften. Also, I'll never forget coming home from the Vigil and eating a freshly baked brownie with a glass of cold milk. The taste was absolutely amazing. It is incredible how dull the senses become with too much of a good thing.

Blessings my friend!

When we go without, it's amazing how really good some things taste but also how icky other things that we were used to taste. After Lent, some foods just feel too greasy in my mouth, so we've been cutting back anyway.

I really need to work on Lent. For some reason, we always all get sick (major virus season in the schools and at Hubby's work, so we get it all). This last year, we all got sick, and then I broke a rib. I swear there's something wrong with Lent in our family.

I could live on cheese!

my hang-up is really protein. Yes, there's tofu and assorted mixed incomplete proteins, but meat and dairy both provide complete proteins. I do love nuts, and that helps.

But giving up cheese pizza...

It's not just corn either. The deforestation of the Amazon is largely due to creating soy for animal feed.

:( That's fishy!

Works for me. :hi:

That's if there isn't another fast overriding that or a feast overriding that. We're to fast all meat (even fish with backbones, though shellfish are allowed), eggs, and dairy products. We're not that great at it, but we're trying to follow that more and more.

Oh, and as for the grain and beef ratio, that depends. If you get pasture raised beef, it'll be a lot lower, and if you get bison from a local ranch, like we do, there's no grain at all. If you still want meat, try looking at LocalHarvest.org or a similar site and see if you can find a local farmer with the kinds of practices you want.

the area I live in just had an outbreak of 18 cases of e coli. one woman (who worked in my office) actually died from it. it was traced back to hamburger patties sold in Krogers. I'm thinking I'd like to give up meat completely...

I buy my beef from a local farmer. Trust me, grass fed beef is delicious.

BTW- why isn't fish considered "meat"? It is flesh isn't it?

So the point is the feed and other issues surrounding mass producing beef, pork and chicken.

(aside) I agree. Grass fed beef is good.

My wife eats fish. She calls herself a pescatarian, and she hates people calling her a vegetarian. Only because she thinks people saying fish and chicken are vegetarian make it much harder for real vegetarians.

A few years ago, she was in Naples, and someone tried to feed her veal, saying it was vegetarian, because it came from a "baby cow." A truly :wtf: moment.

:drool:

I wonder how to get it to catch on. Really not hard to do. LOL, we liked Fridays, b/c that meant pizza! The world's most perfect food, pizza.

Remember, we evolved from hunter-gatherers who seldomly ate meat as a regular, day-to-day diet.

I could give it up, as long as I get my meat on feast-days and bacon bits for my caesar salad.

It was always fish. always.

It's actually quite disappointing. For the last two millennia, the fishermen were getting pissed off that no one was buying fish, so they had the pope (don't remember which one) agree to make it a law that fish only--no meat--be consumed on Fridays. It made the fishermen happy, so that made the pope happy, and people actually had a fairly healthy food added to their overall diet. A "win-win-win" scenario if there was ever one. Of course, the cost of fish is through the roof, so it's not as much a case of anyone winning, unless you can afford to buy the fish nowadays.

shell fish!? Go figure.

Shellfish aren't. We include olive oil because it used to be stored in containers made from cows (stomachs or leather). Then, there's the meat and dairy issue. *sigh*

No meat, no dairy, no eggs, 24x7.

I grew up Catholic also and remember fried fish filets on Friday at my house. Definitely doable.

the beef you eat does not eat corn as a staple of their diet.

the vast majority of beef in america, the vast majority of beef in the world, feeds on grasses.

8 lbs of corn feed = 1 lb of beef is a bullshit argument from people that have never ever raised a cow. never ever seen an actual farm. a fucking horseshit argument.

corn fed beef is what produces milk. because they must control the input. milk must taste like milk.

beef, mostly, wanders fields eating grass until they are deemed worthy of being you next meal.


that is just how it do. so once again, hate me for telling the truth.

the corn vs beef argument is bullshit. beef don't eat corn.

they eat grass...

after all the fish-sticks I ate as a child on Fridays, I can't stomach them now....