Reducing Our Meat Consumption
Eating meat has a substantial negative effect on the environment and can also have a major impact on our health and wellbeing. BUT you don’t have to go vegan or vegetarian to reduce your impact (thank goodness!). Being careful and deliberate about where you source your food from and reducing your consumption can all make a big difference.
When you buy high-quality organic meat, everyone wins. It's not only a more nutritious option for your health and wellbeing, it is also better for the earth. In this sense, organic meat is more than a personal luxury - it's how food is supposed to be. What's more, any connoisseur (read: all meat eaters who love a good steak) will tell you that organic meat simply tastes better.
Healthier people.
By now, there is overwhelming scientific evidence around the nutritional value of organic food and we continue to find more ways that it can benefit us. When you eat organic meat, you're avoiding the growth hormones, antibiotics and genetically engineered drugs found in other livestock. More importantly, you're avoiding the potential side effects of these countless additives which can impact childhood development, allergies, sexual function and our general health. By eating organic meat, you’ll also be getting the increased goodness of important, cancer-fighting antioxidants.
Healthier planet.
Organic food processes also benefit the earth in countless ways. Organic livestock is grown humanely, in line with natural growth and development processes. Organic farming systems are based on the principle of land and soil regeneration and best environmental practice. As a result, there is less chemical runoff and residue in our drinking water and waterways and reduced greenhouse gas emissions from fertilisers. Better for us and the animal kingdom at large.
‘The food we choose to eat contributes more to our eco-footprint than our transport and home energy use.
The good news is there are a couple of ways you can 'do' meat-eating differently.
1. The first is to eat less meat but eat better meat.
This is the simplest way to reduce our impact on the meat industry and therefore on our planet. It also means we are getting high-quality protein into our bodies, full of the nutritional value that nature had originally intended.
2. Secondly, you can bulk-buy meat individually or as a co-op.
Bulk-buying your organic meat can be an initial outlay and investment, but in the long run can saves you hundreds of dollars. A good chest freezer and making friends with an organic butcher is all you need to get started.
3. The third is to 'grow your own' meat.
This is definitely more complicated and the long way around, but if you have the option, in my opinion it is the best and cheapest alternative to getting the best quality meat in your homes, in the most sustainable way.
‘Aussies chomp through more than their body weight in meat each year, which averages out to around 92kg per person – triple the amount of meat recommended by health guidelines and triple the average amount per person globally.’
An increasing appetite for meat.
Modern industrial food production techniques have been so successful they’re making us overweight and dangerously unhealthy. In Australia, more than half the population is overweight or obese and diet-related illnesses such as some cancers, type-2 diabetes, heart disease and stroke are amongst our biggest killers.
For most of the last ten thousand years, food production was a simple affair – produce grown, or livestock raised, on small farms, orchards and market gardens, traded at local markets and cooked at home. Industrialization changed all that, with more and more food now manufactured using increasingly efficient processes to (try!) to make it tastier, quicker to prepare, higher in energy content, and cheaper…. But certainly not better for us.
But there’s a growing number of people who are interested in eating less meat. Industrially producing meat takes a huge toll on the environment, using enormous amounts of resources like land, crops, water, energy while producing a colossal amount of carbon dioxide-equivalent gases. It’s also terrible for animals, and devastating for people who live and work in the communities around the factory farms.
The production and consumption of food in Australia and globally is linked to the environment at every turn – from on-farm production, food processing and packaging, distribution, storage and consumption. The processes within the food system not only produce food, but also other outputs such as greenhouse gases, waste water, packaging and food waste. Each of these contributes to environmental degradation. And at the same time, environmental degradation and climate change is altering the Australian food system, with implications for yield, quality and affordability.
One way we can decrease our 'foodprint'— the impact of our food production on the environment, animals and people — is to eat organic, pasture-raised products, rather than factory farm-raised, animal products and to eat much less of them. This approach is commonly coined the 'less meat, better meat' strategy.
Eat Better Meat.
The best place to start is with better meat. Better meat usually means organic and grass-fed.
Organic meat means that the livestock were fed organic feed, free from pesticides and other chemicals. This can be grass or grain. Organic farmers are also prevented from using growth hormones or routine antibiotics.
Beef or lamb labelled as grass-fed means that the animal was fed on grass, hay or foliage only.
Typically, grass fed livestock roam outside and graze naturally. For this reason, grass fed animals are often healthier than those fed grain. The act of grazing allows them to exercise and grass is far more nourishing than grains.
Other sustainable meat practises include:
Meat produced by farms which use low impact farming practices such as:
Holistic grazing which allows livestock to graze on grass in one pasture and move on to another so the soil recovers naturally.
Water and energy recycling programs.
Minimal use of chemicals, pesticides and antibiotics.
Organic farming.
Grass fed (rather than grain fed) livestock.
Locally produced meats which reduce food miles.
Genuine free range farming. (Which provides better animal welfare conditions by allowing livestock to roam outside.)
Lower impact meats (i.e chicken rather than beef or lamb).
Wild sourced meats which come from wild animals rather than farmed animals. Although controversial, this is arguably more ethical than intensively farming livestock.
Eat Less Meat.
The traditional Australian (or western society) diet has often consisted of a large chunk of meat, with other stuff like vegetables and starches — “sides” — around it. The reality of a lot of lunch and dinner plates is: meat is the star.
So here are some tips to reducing meat consumption (without having to eliminate it altogether):
Make meat your side dish: It’s such a common thing to make meat the main event, while your starch and veg are just the sides. Start rethinking that. If you’re used to a plate that’s half meat, start aiming for a quarter or even a third meat, with larger portions of starch and vegetables.
Get creative: Casseroles and baked dishes can be a great way of upping your vegetable intake and reducing meat intake. Baked pastas, different cuisines like Mexican, veggie curries, frittatas, soups etc. all typically use less meat than other dishes. You can also reduce the amount of meat called for and up the vegetable quantity.
Try meat and non-meat combos: Ok, so you tried ground turkey instead of ground beef and it just wasn’t good. So why not try a combo? Instead of all beef, use a combo of ground beef and ground turkey for your next batch of chili. Make a shepherd’s pie with half beef and half brown lentils. Use half meat and half black beans for your next Taco Tuesday. Instead of feeling guilty about not eliminating meat, just try replacing some of your typical meat consumption.
Make one dinner a week (or month) meat-free: Baby steps! It can be hard to make any kind of dietary change. That’s why so many diets fail! It doesn’t matter if your dietary changes are about weight loss or climate change, it’s hard to change habits. If it makes it easier on you, take really small steps. Over time, you’ll get more comfortable making meat-free dishes and can add in more meat-free days.
Eat more whole foods: A common issue when people reduce their meat intake is that they find themselves feeling hungrier. The way around this is to aim to eat more whole foods, meaning whole grains and fruits and vegetables with the skin. Try brown rice, or mixing brown rice with your white rice, whole grain pastas, baked potatoes with the skin, whole apples or pears, and even seeds or nuts as snacks. The high fiber content in these foods help you feel fuller, longer.
Remember that reducing your environmental impact doesn’t have to be all or nothing. It’s about taking whatever steps you can to create new habits and even inspire others. Focus on the big picture. A little less meat today may not seem like a significant enough contribution, but less meat over time will add up to a meaningful impact. Aim to do your part, whatever that may be.
Yes, it costs more. But you're paying for food's 'true cost'.
Pastured-raised animal products are often more expensive than the conventional, industrial meat sold in most grocery stores, but consumers can use the money saved from buying less meat to purchase better meat (and more produce, legumes, etc.). And while it may not change your weekly grocery bill, it is also worth remembering that paying more for pasture-raised meats means paying for the food’s 'true cost,' including environmental and health benefits. If you cannot afford to buy or cannot locate better, pastured meat, you can focus your efforts solely on eating less meat.
What about 'protein'?
If you’re worried about the health ramifications of shrinking that portion of meat, keep in mind: you really do not need to be eating so much meat. Many people are worried about getting enough protein, likely because food marketers have been pushing protein on us for a few years now, adding it to bars, shakes, cereal and more. Many people are eating about 100 grams a day, which is about double the daily recommended dose of 46 grams for women and 56 grams for men.
Where to buy and what to look for:
Just as there’s no standard definition of sustainable meat, there’s no universal label to look for either. Products labelled as free range may be less ‘free’ than you’d hope. Next time you’re buying meat, these are some key labels to look out for. These will all give you confidence that you’re buying ethical meat, such as organic certifications and labels.
You can also:
visit your local butchers instead of buying meat from the supermarket. They’re more likely to know the provenance of the meat they’re selling.
check the country of origin to know if the meat has been produced in your country or imported.
buy directly from a sustainable local farm. There are a growing number of farms and organisations that offer sustainable organic meat delivery.
A simple Google search - 'organic meat' will (hopefully) find you several options, wherever you are in the world. As a Melbourne baby, my top three options are:
When you find a nearby option, look for their 'about us' or 'our story' tab. Usually this gives you the background information about the company, about their farms, their sustainability practices, their certifications and obviously their quality of meat.
Here's a quick breakdown of what you should expect to find on a trusted website:
By far, the best in the biz are small crews like Cherry Tree Organics. When I jump on their site and head to their 'about us' tab, they give me a breakdown (with their certification badges) of just exactly what to expect from paddock to plate.
CERTIFICATION: All Cherry Tree Organics’ meat is Australian Certified Organic. This means it’s free of harmful chemicals, pollutants and hormones. And it’s packed with more of the good things to nourish your body – iron, zinc, protein, omega-3, vitamins B & D and more.
THE FINEST QUALITY: Nothing compares to the delicious taste and tenderness of Cherry Tree Organics’ meat. It’s a depth of flavour we can achieve by only farming breeds of cattle and sheep known for their quality and rearing our animals as Mother Nature intended; slowly and naturally.
100% GRASS FED: We ensure our animals only feed on their mother’s milk and green grass. It’s a diet that results in a superior and more complex taste, lower fat content and higher levels of essential nutrients such as omega-3.
RESPECT FOR THE ANIMAL: Animal welfare is at the heart of our farming. We raise our cattle and sheep with care, using 100% ethical farming practices that encourage natural and free roaming and grazing. This guarantees the utmost quality of our final product. It also means you can enjoy your meat knowing the animal was treated well throughout its life.
SUSTAINABLE FARMING: We care about healthy soils, healthy plants, healthy animals and healthy people. To reflect this, we follow the highest ethical and sustainable standards in running our farm and producing our meat, caring for our environment now and for generations to come.
PADDOCK TO PLATE: You deserve to know where your food comes from. That’s why we provide full transparency in the source of all our products. We also proudly run Cherry Tree Organics’ butcher shop in Beaconsfield, Melbourne, which gives us complete control over the process of taking our lamb and cattle from our paddock to your plate.
Meat Share (bulk-buying meat).
Another incredible thing about butchers (and Cherry Tree Organics is one of them) is that some local butchers or even local farmers will do a meat share. A meat share means buying a whole, half, or quarter animal all at once. A butcher will cut your share any way you would like, so that you still end up with steaks or ribs or bacon, as well as everything in between - all that meat is yours, so that's the point in investing in a chest freezer.
There are some big advantages to buying meat by the share. It is almost always cheaper per kilo to buy a share than the same meat by the cut, even though it is a large one-time purchase.
Also, all the expenses are upfront, easy to budget for and you know exactly how much money you will be spending (around a thousand dollars for a whole pig, closer to two thousand for a whole cow, in case you were wondering).
Many families buy a meat share with another household, or even two or three. Then everyone shares the benefits of reduced cost and high-quality meat, without the hassle of storing almost 250kg's of cow.
Again, obviously you should only buy meat from a farming operation that highly values animal welfare, pastures their animals, and gives them high-quality feed. Some big farms do this—but how can you know for sure? The best thing about buying from a local farms is that you can get to know your farmer, visit their farm, and see for yourself.
You might do this once a year, with one animal (not a cow and a pig and a lamb all at the same time). But you must remember, every bit of change counts. Buying meat direct from a farm is not only a big line-item in your budget, but a shift of lifestyle, time, and convenience. You don’t have to do it every day for it to make a difference to your health, or to the farmer.
Grow your own meat (my story).
Growing up, we lived on 4 acres of land in Beaconsfield, Victoria. My dad completed a butchers apprenticeship as a teenager and so knows a thing or two about meat, and we've always been big meat eaters (connoisseurs, in our opinion!).
Not wanting to mow it, and to keep our pastures down, dad invested in three Hereford calves to graze the grass and eventually provide meat for our family. After a couple of years, we had a mobile butcher come and gentle and ethically put them to sleep, and then butchered the animals in to all the cuts and parts we wanted, before mincing the rest. We then spent the next day separating, weighing, bagging and labelling the cuts before we shared the meat between 6x families. We each took home half a cow, and it was our beef covered for almost the whole next year.
We did a similar process with a couple of pigs as well. Mostly for my dad to cure prosciutto and create his own salami. The most delicious meat you will ever taste. But dad did daily trips to the local fruit and veggie store for all their boxes of old produce in order to keep the pigs happy and full enough.
Don't get me wrong, it is a LOT of work. My dad did most of it, and we reaped the rewards. But to do this you will need land, appropriate fencing and space; the time to care for the animal (provide water, make sure they're staying healthy etc etc). In our experience, cows are easier to care for than lambs, and pigs are the most difficult (but often the most rewarding).
Some things to consider before jumping in to this:
Contact local farmers, ideally people you know, to purchase your animals.
Decide if you want to purchase it as a baby or an adult (for e.g. a calf would be about $750, a steer would be about $1500)
where you will home the animal (on your own property or someone else's)
What relationships can you create at local markets or with local butches who can point you in the right directions (they are the best source for local information)
find a mobile butcher who will help you 'take care' of the animal in its final hours and then cut the meat (this usually cost about $2.50 per kilo to butcher, as an average cost)
Is the time and effort worth it to save you the dollars in the long run?
Where to from here...?
It’s true that buying sustainable meat will impact our wallets. In many households, switching to organic or grass fed meat will make eating meat a luxury. Which is as it should be, rather than an everyday expectation. Eating less meat but of a higher quality is beneficial to our health and to the health of the planet.
We need to think about where our meat comes from, the farms it’s produced on and the farming practices that are used. Because buying mass produced meat on a daily basis at rock bottom prices will never be sustainable.
And remember, as with all sustainable switches and reducing our toxic load - every single switch counts. If you’re on a budget, start small, like one organic meal a week. This too, even being a small swap, is so significant.
Happy meat-eating!!