I remember back in the 70′s reading the book, Diet For A Small Planet by Frances Moore Lappe’, described by Wikopedia as the first major book to critique grain-fed meat production as wasteful and a contributor to global food scarcity. Eating a planet-centered diet, she argued, means choosing what is best for the earth and our bodies—a daily action that reminds us of our power to create a saner world. It basically was what the impact of eating meat has on our environment.
At the time I did nothing with that information other than agree and move on, continuing to feed my family beef, chicken and pork, and I must say with the economic strain of raising 5 children, there was a lot of hamburger that passed through our doors.
Today, I have chosen not to eat meat, chicken or pork. I still occasionally eat fish and am working on eliminating dairy. This is a very personal decision and one which I myself am very committed to. The infographic below made me think about that book I read so many years ago. It made me sad that I had not committed to eating less meat after learning how much a difference we can each make by such a decision.
Fortunately, one thing I have done for the past 18 years is provide myself with a nutritious protein shake each day that is not animal based. I do believe that has made an incredible difference in my health. Here is the infographic I spoke about:
