Some Thoughts On Meat

I was going to wait until everyone got a chance to read "My Year Of Meats" (at least those who wanted to, that is) before writing about some of my thoughts on "meat" but I've changed my mind. Not because I'm trying to sabotage your reading experience but because it's weighing heavily on my mind right now. I want to get these thoughts down before I forget them... rather, lest I forget them.

(Note: I'm not ruining the book for you if you do read this. These are just my thoughts on the meat industry in general. Don't worry. You can safely read on...)

First let me premise this by saying that I love hamburgers! I've always fancied myself a "burgarian" because I love hamburgers but that's about the extent of my red meat eating. I also have a sorted love affair with bacon, which I guess is kind of red meat. Actually, I don't know if pork is considered a red meat. But I digress. Aside from hamburgers, bacon and chicken, I have practically cut meat out of my life. I've always had an aversion to meat and anyone who knows me well is familiar with my "I'll have the hamburger and I want it BURNT TO A CRISP" requests. All meats that I consume must be free of all traces of life (ie: red). It just grosses me out and I don't really care for the taste of meat. I can't get over the fact that I'm eating flesh. I don't hold this against others, because my derision has always been based on a personal gross out factor- not some love of the poor defenseless cows. I've managed to live an ignorant 30 years, relegating cows to the place that they hold in the food chain and no more.

So, what has changed??? Well, I started writing articles on the subject of organic foods and this required research. My theory on life and death and all that goes between had always been, "I'm going to die of something so why should I stop doing _________." However, when I began looking at the hard facts I realized that I don't have to die of cancer or heart disease or diabetes. I can just die from old age while having lived a long and healthy life. I realized that the "age-related" diseases that people are dying from today weren't even around a hundred years ago. That we were ultimately responsible for the harm that was bestowed upon us. OK, maybe not me directly, but the population at large.

And that's where this book pulled it all together for me. See, I knew all of that other stuff but still managed to put the blinders on when it came to personal responsibility. How could little old me, this one human being in a world of millions, make any difference at all? I can't, so why try? But then I started thinking, while it's true, maybe on my own I can't do anything to stop all of the problems in the world, do I really want to be contributing to them? And then the answer was quite clear to me. By not doing anything, I was a part of the problem and not the solution. Wow, what a wake-up call.

So let me fill in the gaps a little here. As far as I see it, the problem is multi-faceted. It all begins with the insatiable appetite that American's have for meat. I say American's but really, any developed nation can be substituted here. Regardless, our demand for meat, coupled with the sky rocketing population, has brought us into a crisis. How on earth can we meet these high demands for meat? Simple. Increase meat production. Well, "meat production" actually means that we need to raise more animals. However, because we live in a free economy, the lowest price from cow to dinner table wins. So that's another facet of the equation.

Just to recap here, we have these issues:

1. We love meat. We want it with every meal.
2. We are reproducing at startling rates. There are millions of us to feed.
3. We want meat at the lowest price possible.

Got that? OK. So now we have the problem of raising these cows while lowering the cost of doing it so that we can compete with other cattle farmers. How to do that???? I know! Shorten the time that it takes to raise the cow to slaughtering age. That way we can "output" more beef each year. Now... How to do that??? This is where the beauty of our fabulous country comes in. See, the government has specially funded research programs to answer such pressing questions. They really want to help the farming community thrive so they are willing to foot the bill for such research. And let me tell you what they came up with. HORMONES. Yes, hormones. You see, by injecting cattle (and other animals) with sex hormones (such as estrogen and testosterone) they can bring the cattle to full size much much sooner. Not only that, but the cows that are used for breeding our future steaks are also given these hormones in order to get them "in the mood" so to speak. What takes you and I fine dining and wine can be accomplished with just a hypodermic needle of hormones for a cow.

What does this all mean for you and me? We are ingesting hormones and other dangerous chemicals with every taste of steak that we savor. Hormones that have been proven to cause breast cancer and lower fertility rates in both men and women. Hormones that can take an otherwise healthy man and cause him to grow breasts. It used to be that steak was considered a man's meal. How manly are a bunch of cowboys wearing bras, I ask you?

Let me just tell you a few interesting facts about breast cancer. Breast cancer results when estrogen is too plentiful in the body. Meaning, if you have too much of it you could be in store for big problems like cancer. Many factors can result in a high lifetime exposure of estrogen such as early menstruation, late menopause, hormone replacement therapy, a problem with the way that your body processes estrogen, long term exposure to elevated electromagnetic waves.... the list goes on and on. The reality is terrifying but add into the equation the fact that the meat your government (by way of the FDA and USDA) is telling you is safe is actually exposing you to extremely high amounts of dangerous hormones and the truth becomes almost too much to comprehend.

So here is where the crux of my problem lies. While I do have issues with the inhumane ways that animals are slaughtered and the fact that they have to die so that I can enjoy another hamburger, my real problem is with the way that our insatiable appetite for meat has created the issues that we are now faced with. I've had to ask myself, if I didn't need this meat so much would the cattle ranchers be forced to such drastic measures just to meet my demands? Probably not. Howver, the reality is, if I were to stop eating animal products, the problems would still be there. I'm not going to make a difference in the way a nation thinks. But, if I continue to eat meat then I am a part of the problem. I continue to be the need for mass amounts of meat. And that is where I can take myself out of the equation and say that I'm not so sure that I want to be the problem. I never wanted this to happen in the first place. All I ever wanted was a hamburger.

Something to think about...

Comments

[emily]

my theory on making a difference is doing what you just did. making people aware. we pass these beliefs and info on to other people and our children and eventually its not just one person wanting things to change. hopefully the meat industry will supply that demand.