Ignoring the morality of eating animals, on the subject of the animals, raising animals as/for food is horrible for the environment. Cows/pigs/ships contaminate water sources. Mammals fart, which in big enough numbers is pushing global warming. The resources used to prepare one meal from an animal can be used to make up-to 100 meals from plants. This effects everyone, no one is above global warming, yea the poor will be screwed more then the rich, but everyone are screwed. So avoiding eating animals for this reason alone in your self interest (unless you are going to die soon). Food prices mostly affect poor people, and less so in richer countries, those that can afford to eat enough meat make global changes in the economy will be effected by it, so it goes to morality (do you care that your enjoyment of eating dead animals might starve someone to death ?). There is also the subject of heart problems and colon cancer, you are less likely to die from them if you go vegan. I think those are the main topics of eating animals, from there it's a personal choice, do I care about my heart ? do I care about global warming ? people less fortunate then me ? can I handle the social aspects of going vegan ? can I handle the mental changes required to change my diet ?
Artificial meat made out of plants is a thing now, though the market is not big. 3D-printed meat will likely become a thing. Someone was already able to print a bar of chocolate and a pizza, on separate occasions. No need for going paleo on this bitch.
I have nothing against artificial meat, it will have to more efficient then normal meat in its energy consumption to compete with normal meat. If it will be too real it too will increase the risk of heart problems and colon cancer, both are deadly. What do you mean print a pizza and chocolate ? from what ? We can make gold from lead, but it consumes too much energy to be practical (it was a big fuck you to past days alchemists). Personally I love my food, I feel better on vegan diet, I also save money sticking to this diet.
In what way, more efficient? From pizza stuff and chocolate, respectively. Not as mind-blowing as one would expect. However... There have also been talks about 3D-printing human organs for replacement purposes, done with actual tissues. While imperfect, it builds path for building food out of basic materials. The difference between alchemy and this is that you start with gold rather try to turn it around. Or lead, if that's what you're aiming for. Boron. Whatever your heart desires. Then share your secret. I find it an extremely expensive lifestyle to maintain, financially, and I don't even buy this much meat to begin with. For the same price, I can get a kilogram of chicken breasts, which allows me a few meals, each a few days' worth of nutrition when mixed with grains - or I can get a day's worth of assorted nuts. And don't even get me started on bulgur and shit. it will have to more efficient then normal meat in its energy consumption to compete with normal meat.
What do you mean print a pizza and chocolate ? from what ?
I also save money sticking to this diet.
Basically ? energy, people are against drastic changes to their life style, to get them to buy man-made meat-like substance it will need to be cheaper. Which will reduce damage to our poor plant. I've seen, I thought you talked about something much crazier, like turning lead to gold. I mostly eat types of beans (or is it fabaceae in English ?), with while rice and buckwheat, combined with seeds such as sesame. The rest is the seasons fruits and vegetables that I can cheaply buy in the market. I have basil and some other nice stuff which I grew on the edge of the window, because they cost too much to buy and I really like them. It costs between 100 to 200 NIS a month to live like that, which is 24.5 - 49 USD according to google. As I assume you are not from Israel, the minimum wadge for full time job is 1370.4 USD. So it's about 4% from a month of work on minimum wadge. To cook the beans I set them in water for 24-36 hours before hand and cook them over gas, which I bought a yearly supply of for 41$ but that is not available everywhere, I can do that because there is no gas pipes around here. On the other hand the rent is really high :(In what way, more efficient?
From pizza stuff and chocolate, respectively. Not as mind-blowing as one would expect. However...
Then share your secret
You live on 50$ a month? Wow crazy in the us that would buy you rice and beans that's it. Chicken here is super cheap, I paid 1.39 a lb the other day. For comparison red potatos are 99c carrots are also right around 1-2$. There really aren't any fresh vegetables except russet potatoes and onions that cost less per lb than chicken. There may be a million varieties of vegies out there but the grocery stores don't stock all that's many, the poorer areas are especially bad. My grocery store is well stocked I can even get more exotic things like radicchio endives and artichoke but in the store near the low income housing... nada. Carrot onion lettuce broccoli and maybe one or 2 other things a lot of it looks pretty wilted plenty of chicken and pork thought. Anyway optimizing food for calories/impact is kind of a foolish errand unless you are trying to survive in outer space. Food is so much more than calories and nutrients, it's social, its pleasureable its cultural. Telling people to stop eating meat to save the environment is like telling them to stop making art and going to church because it's wasteful and serves no purpose.
What is the minimal hourly salary ? I sounds expensive, I'm not sure about local chicken prices, but looking at stores web-sites it seems to be much higher. Do you live far from agricultural areas ? It sounds very depressing, I'm currently living in a poor city to save money on rent, and I can walk to a market twice a week in buy as much vegetables as I can carry. I'm not trying to get perfect optimization, but meat is really bad for the environment and screws up poorer people as it leads to rising food prices. You can make fun vegan food for social events, cookies, cakes, pizza, casseroles, salads, all can be made vegan. When I had much more free time I had the hobby of bring vegan cookies and cakes to social events I attended, trying to make them better then the none-vegan food other people showed up with (then to share the recipe when people asked).
The way you eat seems very limited to me. Are you satisfied with such a narrow window of foods? I'm not an expert, but it also sounds like you're missing some of the important vitamins - namely, B12. Have you consulted a dietician on the matter?
Why limited ? there are many types of fruits and vegetables, seeds and beans. The number of combinations is huge, there are more meals I can make then meals I can't make. At first, when I started to change my life-style it was hard, but as I relearned to cook I found out that I can make more variations of food then I need to never be bored from my food. I'm doing yearly blood checks due to a medical conditions, and everything but B12 is good, so I'm taking B12 pills that you put under your tongue. The B12 issue my not be related, my close family is not vegan, not even one of them, and some of them are lacking B12 too. Not everyone can get enough B12 out of foods. What I found funny, is that people used ask about my iron and how I'm not anemic, my iron was so high on my last blood test that it was on the highest healthy value according the graph my doctor handed to me. After working out weekly for that past few years people stopped asking if I'm anemic or if I get enough protein. The only big issue is that you need to drink more water (or you will fart, a lot), which means I'm going to the toilet more.
Oh, sorry, that makes sense, Israel has a better to grew food in, from the little I know about Russian weather.
Fiona's pigs do sound like they are well cared for, live a good life and... are likely delicious. Being disconnected from our food source is a real problem, especially in the US. Most people have never killed an animal, cleaned it and processed the meat. It's an experience that will change the way you see your food and not necessarily in a way that steers towards vegetarianism but often in a way that gives a person a deeper respect for the life that was sacrificed for their own. That said, lab grown meat is here and I'll be interested to see how it effects the behavior of vegetarians.... especially my wife.
I've been vegetarian for 6 years and vegan for about 8 months. I'd support lab grown meat if it means no animals get harmed or killed. Said that, at the moment, there are already plenty of meat alternatives that taste just as nice as meat, so why wait for lab meat? ; )
What are they? I've yet to come across them except at really nice vegetarian restaurants. My wife is a vegetarian, I've tried quite a few and none live up to their meat counterparts.Said that, at the moment, there are already plenty of meat alternatives that taste just as nice as meat, so why wait for lab meat? ; )
The fact that you find dishes in vegetarian restaurants tasty proves that there are vegan options that can satisfy your taste. Maybe ask for the recipe next time you eat something nice. Usually the tastier vegan options tend to be more processed so they aren't usually the healthiest. The problem is that our palette is so accustomed to high salt and fats that we no longer enjoy the subtle flavours of vegetables. The tongue can be trained though. The Taifun brand has quite a few tasty tofu products. My favourites are Puszta-Wiener and the Smoked Tofu. This is a German brand which is available throughout all Europe, I'm not sure if it's available elsewhere. Seitan, which is derived from wheat, has quite a "meaty" texture. There are some nice marinated options available. You can also do your own marinades. Plain meat substitutes are bland (just as meat is bland without spices) so it can take a bit of practice until you find a flavour that you're happy with. Things like salt, soya sauce, olive oil, lemon juice, miso, paprika, garlic, onions, and various herbs can be combined in different and interesting tasty ways to make your meat alternative taste yum : )