If you have Netflix, you NEED to watch the series Explained…..more specifically the episode titled “The Future of Meat”…its short, its only 24 minutes long, but the message is so powerful.
This will open your eyes to see what a toll our food consumption is having on the planet as a whole. Seriously there are some shocking facts presented in this documentary. Every single person who eats meat needs to watch this. Even for non meat eaters, the information in this could be applied to how a lot of our food is produced and consumed.
 
Key points from the episode:
 

• Our excessive consumption of meat is what makes it unsustainable to the planet. The vast land and water needed, plus the green house gasses emitted, will not be sustainable in future years.
• The introduction of factory farming increased our want. Before that, people raised animals and consumed them as needed. Now we are producing animals at a much higher rate than we actually need. Eating meat isn’t the problem…it’s HOW MUCH we eat that is the problem!
• We are transforming animals to fit our needs. Animals need to be slaughtered at younger ages because we have sped up their growth so much that their bodies cannot survive past a certain point now. Chickens are literally growing too big that their legs will crush beneath them!! How awful is that!
• The only reason animals are not getting sick from being crammed together at factory farms is because of the antibiotics given to them…but even that doesn’t work all the time and antibiotics do not work n viruses. This has led to disease outbreaks amongst the animals as well as diseases pasted onto humans! Diseases that could be greatly prevented if we eliminated factory farming.
• Raising animals therefore takes a heavy toll on humans and the environment. All of the land that is currently being used just to feed animals, could be put to better use per square foot to feed humans.
• People like meat because of the taste, not for where it comes from. This is where the idea of ‘meatless’ options came from. Meatless burgers were invented as a way to find a solution to the issue with meat consumption, not as a healthy alternative.
• Eating meat has become a habit in our society.
• Most people asked said they do not support ‘test tube’ meats….however a lot of the meat we eat today IS lab altered……selective breeding, growth hormones, antibiotics, and climate controlled warehouses.
• A high amount of human processing goes into the meats we currently eat. Food has become technology.
• Our ancestors ate meat, but not every day and not at every meal.
• The world is changing because of our food demands….we are creating new viruses, we are changing the effectiveness of antibiotics, our health is changing, and we are changing the environment. Something needs to happen because our planet cannot continue at this pace.

 

Wanting to incorporate more meatless dishes into your diet doesn’t mean that you need to go all in and become a vegetarian/vegan. You can still have a balance of animal products and plant based choices. Im not sure why but there is this weird stigma surrounding food choices…and ive often been around others who will say “are you not eating meat now?” when someone chooses to order a vegetarian dish at a restaurant, or chooses to put almond milk in their latte instead of cows milk. There is no reason why you can’t do both, and doing so will actually be very beneficial to your health, your wallet, and the earth.
Over the next few weeks, im going to focus on posting recipes, tips, etc on how to include more plant based items into your diet. Stay tuned to my facebook page and Instagram so you don't miss anything!