Tranching Reality

For those wondering, which is probably zero of you, I decided to move beef to the “special occasions” segment of my diet. Because beef production is probably the most egregious contributor to carbon emission, that goes first. I’m not ethically opposed to eating animals, so I think that it’s alright to have a really great steak or hamburger on special occasions (like an anniversary or birthday).

Having beef be a part of my regular diet is probably too much, both for the environment and my health. I’m trying to put more fruits, veggies, and complex carbs into my diet as well. So fast-food and freezer meals with beef are out (the ones not already in my freezer, anyway). Pork may come next, I haven’t decided yet. The carbon footprint of pork isn’t great, but it’s still a small fraction of that of beef.

I think that the important thing to remember is that I’m not going to change the world myself on this, even if I shout really loud. It’s going to take time to wean Americans off of beef. It’s so much a part of our culture now that people will fight to keep it. Americans are accustomed to cheap beef (and meat in general), and we won’t want to give up that privilege.

I think that one of the things that will help this happen is if we remove beef subsidies. It’s irresponsible to pour money into something so wasteful. When you go to the meat section of your supermarket and see a wall of red, much of which will be discarded, it’s a little obscene. We have plentiful sources of food here, so we’ll be fine (and as I’ve stated before, we need to scale back our meat consumption anyway). It should also free up some agricultural land for other crops that will be far more efficient. That’s really where I think we should start. I don’t think that we need to stop eating beef altogether, but I do think that it should be a delicacy, not a staple.