People are discovering that food costs are soaring, electricity and government charges including water charges are on the increase and many families are needing to find savings in the family budget.

The Punch's daily meat intake

If recent reports by the United Nations are any indication then the savings can come from this unexpected phenomenon.

The worlwide non-profit initiative to promote Meatless Mondays and Fishless Fridays is encouraging the voluntary rationing of certain foods. This is not new as rationing was common practice during both World Wars. 

Promoting Meatless Mondays in Australia is part of an international campaign.  The average consumption of red meat in Australia is 50 kilograms per person. This campaign encourages people to reduce meat consumption by 15 per cent (the equivalent of one day a week)  to lessen the risk of chronic preventable illness and help slow climate change as animal industries contribute over 30 per cent of Australia’s greenhouse emissions. This initiative is not focused on animal welfare but on human health and our environment.

Worldwide the countries embracing this concept include the USA, Britain, Canada, Brazil, Holland, Taiwan, Norway, Croatia and Japan. To encourage family involvement a website MeatlessMonday.com offers weekly meat-free recipes, articles, tips and news.

Fish are under threat as well. Fish are an important source of food for 250 million people worldwide. Fishless Friday’s are the response of a United Nations conference on saving fish stocks held in May 2010. According to the UN, three quarters of the world’s fish stocks are in distress and the world faces the nightmare possibility of fishless oceans by 2050. It is estimated there are 35 million people fishing around the world on 20 million boats so all fisheries risk running out of commercially viable catches.

Since the 1990’s the amount of seafood consumed in Australia has increased from 11 kilograms per person to 22 kilograms. Australia’s Bureau of Rural Sciences reported in 2007 that of Australia’s 96 federally managed fish stocks, 1 in 6 were overfished or subject to overfishing. Australian fish stocks have declined so much that Australia now imports about seventy-five percent of our nation’s seafood consumption.

The global population is predicted to surge towards a predicted 9.1 billion people by 2050 and tastes for diets rich in meat and fish will prove unsustainable.

The goal of these two revolutionary initiatives is quite simple. Save money, improve health and help the environment. It is time to explore other interesting food options while doing yourself and the world a whole lot of good.

Increasing the intake of fruits and vegetables rather than meat and fish on two days per week will have a positive impact on personal health now and into the future. The time for action is now - commit to a Meatless Monday and Fishless Friday. 

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124 comments

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    • Peter says:

      08:06am | 02/09/10

      Perhaps we should just terminate old fogies like Mr Wallace and eat them instead.

      Mmm, Soylent Green….

    • Nicole says:

      08:54am | 02/09/10

      Ewww, mutton! Nup, I’ll stick to my 300g Porterhouse steak and I’ll eat it any day I want. Especially Monday’s.

    • Macca says:

      08:12am | 02/09/10

      “The average consumption of red meat in Australia is 50 kilograms per person”

      “Since the 1990’s the amount of seafood consumed in Australia has increased from 11 kilograms per person to 22 kilograms”

      In what time period, a month? a year? A lifetime?

      I’m guessing the Seafood one solely refers to Christmas day, and the Meat one, I’m guessing Annually, although that figure could easily soar to Monthly if you chuck a few Kilo Schnitzel Challenges, All you can eat Portuguese Chicken and Macca’s Family Boxes in there.

    • Komboman says:

      08:36am | 02/09/10

      That was my first question as well

    • Gregg says:

      09:39am | 02/09/10

      It’s per annum you for those with minds addled by too many dim sims per week!

    • Macca says:

      10:25am | 02/09/10

      @Gregg, thanks for the clarificationm, although I still feel the Seafood one is a reflection of Christmas day, and not the entire year.

      Also, its not Dim Sims, its the Spare Pork Ribs and Veak Sausages I had last night. A staple in any balanced diet

    • Nicole says:

      11:47am | 02/09/10

      @Macca, I hope you roasted those pork ribs. It’s the only way to have em!

    • lv says:

      12:04pm | 02/09/10

      22 kilos of seafood per person for Christmas Day?? Are you serious??
      Like to see you try and eat that.
      All that seafood sure aint making you any smarter…

    • Meatismurder says:

      09:23am | 03/09/10

      Gregg, I think the point is that a good report would actually specify the time frame. Your iron supplements must be failing raspberry

    • Gregg says:

      11:05am | 03/09/10

      And meatismurder,
      The point was trivial as any online authors and editors if existing probably make more minor errors and/or leave more to the mind of the readers to read in context.
      If someone has so much time to bother adding such a point, no doubt probably not enough for BBQing and quite possibly are dining on dim sims, the emphasis on dim!
      My iron level is fine thanks and yours?

    • Andy D says:

      08:29am | 02/09/10

      My family has recently decided to eat vegetarian meals at least 2 days a week, not for any altruistic “save the world” purposes but just in an attempt to live a more healthy life and save a bit of money.

      We had 2 vegetarian days in a row this week and I was very glad to see a homemade burger on the plate last night smile

      We also bought a chest freezer and buy meat in bulk direct from the farm, it’s about half the price, it’s restaurant quality and the money goes straight to a farmer and his butcher friend!!

    • Phil says:

      09:56am | 02/09/10

      Andy I am about to do the same thing. (Buy at the auctions that is, dont mind a bit of vegitarian but not that keen on it)

      The cost per Kilo in my freezer will be less than $ 5.00 cut as I want for the meat and will include Mince, Sausages, Eye Fillet, T Bones etc etc etc.

      Massive saving over $ 30 a kilo at times at the butcher.

    • Macca says:

      03:47pm | 02/09/10

      @Phil, does the money saved get dented at all by the cost of a large Freezer? For me to do this, I would have to go out and spend a few hundred dollars at least on a new Freezer, and then factor in the new electricity prices.

      Whilst I like the approach, I’m not sure it would save me much money in the long run

    • Andy D says:

      10:53am | 03/09/10

      I bought my freezer 2nd hand on ebay for $90 and have not noticed any marked increase in the power bill.

      For me though it’s more about buying top quality meat than it is about money.

    • PatC says:

      01:42pm | 04/09/10

      @ Macca
      Do you have friends?  family?  Buying in bulk and spreading it out over 4 or 5 families brings things back to almost retail quantities.

    • AliceC says:

      08:31am | 02/09/10

      I think that’s a great idea.

      My husband and I have been reducing our meat consumption, cooking two vegetarian dinners per week. Not only do we both feel better for it, we’re saving money on our grocery bill. : )

    • E says:

      02:10pm | 03/09/10

      gee thanks Alice, its great that someone just like me has tried this and had fantastic results! I am now 11.5% more likely to buy this ideological product thanks to your unbiased comment wink

    • Sheedy's Left Foot says:

      08:34am | 02/09/10

      Hmm, lets all conveniently dodge the real issue here which is global overpopulation, particulary in countreis that cannot feed, sustain or support the ever increasing populace. And a global overpopulation which will do more environmental damage than 30% of Australia’s green hous gas output.

      My not eating meat on a Monday or fish on a Friday will not change any of this, so perhaps rather than weak gimmicks the brains trust that came up with this ‘solution’ could look at overpopulation in impoverished nations rather than the food consumed in a wealthy, relitively self sufficent advanced global economy?

    • KH says:

      10:39am | 02/09/10

      Yeah. Let’s do nothing then.

      Sure there are bigger problems, but we don’t always have control over them.  We do however, have control of our pantries.  It might be a small step, but if enough people do it, it has a bigger impact, and moves in the right direction.  Sometimes, attacking problems in small chunks is a good strategy, as eventually, those chunks add up.

    • Adam Diver says:

      10:50am | 02/09/10

      Contraception is just too hard. First world countries must lead the way by seeming to make a difference. The important word here is seeming, very different to doing.

      Lets use renewable enrgy in our grids! Hooray says everyone we are reducing our carbon. Not quite we still need the same power stations to provide baseload to backup the intermttent renewable energies. But the good news is this feel good result will cost consumers and business more. Hooray the populace seemed. Global warming is on the way out, particularly now I am having lentil soup instead of steak for dinner.

      But what about those poor refugees. Locked up in a prison, fed, clothed with medical atteniton and some modern luxuries. How dare we treat them so bad, when they made a dangerous voyage to get away from their horrible lives. How about we let them in the country and enjoy more benefits. That will be humane. But if we do that we encourage more of them to make that dangerous voyage, a voyage that has claimed hundreds of lives. Plus we are rejecting an application from a refugee waiting in a camp somewhere in the world because. But at least the ones with money, who make the trip, riking thier own death, and stopping other equally or more legitimate refugees from entering the country, not just have security, safety, food, shelter, entertainment, but freedom as well. Hooray, we all care for refugees, just not the dead ones, or ones in other countries.

      Still we could do more. There are soldiers of ours, fighting wars in other peoples countries. People have died because we invaded thier countries. We are all right wing nuts for lettingthis happen. We should withdraw our troops right now, we can’t risk anymore of our soldiers lives to provide a nation the freedoms, security and democracy, which so many flee to our country to have. How dare we provide these things to peope living under cruel regimes, where women are treated as second class civilians, children are killed for being spies, and freedom of religion is unheard of, we are so selfish. We should try diplomacy with these countries, we should give them an equal footing in the UN, and we should send our money as aid to help the poor. But no we are just war-mongerers, happy to have civilians die while we fight to give them the freedoms, and quality of life that we enjoy here, whilst simultaneously deriding the people who are actively giving others the same opportunities as us. At least if we pull our troops out, and wear “no war” t shirts and complain about the democratic processes leading to a hung parliament, and bitch about how racist we all are, and talk about how we are so selfish that we are destroying the planet, and need to give more aid whilst we enjoy our latte at the trendy inner city cafe we get that warm feeling inside of seeming (not doing) and we can walk around proud that we have contributed to a beter, fairer and cleaner world and our hands are still clean.

    • Edward James says:

      08:51am | 02/09/10

      Reducing the consumption of meat and sea food by 15%. What about the world population is it not increasing each year by the same or greater percentage? Those extra people are not all vegatarian they are eating meat and fish too. There is something strange about the maths message in your story.  Our world has a growing population imbalance too many human beings to everything else. We will do something about reducing the numbers our human population or mother earth will do it for us with famine and illness.

    • Ronk says:

      10:11am | 03/09/10

      No. it’s not. The world population is growing by les than one-tenth of what you absurdly claim, in fact about one and a half percent at the moment and by less and less every year until, the UN predicts, in about 2050 (having only ever reached not much more than 15% more than what it is now) the world population will start to decline, gradually at first but then faster and faster.

      Human population is definitely not a problem as rich white racists (who consume most of the world’s resources) make it out to be. Least of all in Australia which is a very underpopulated country. As Gandhi put it “The world has more than enough for everyone’s need, but not for everyone’s greed.”

    • Edward James says:

      01:23pm | 03/09/10

      No ‘absurd” claim Ronk. You have exposed an unthinking question, off the top of my head. But thanks for your informative input, you prompted me to surf the net and read how world population is actually decreasing and my perception of growth at 15 % + is way out of touch. While I accept your imputation that a small percentage of the world’s population controls and exploits the bulk of the worlds natural and built asserts and its population for that matter. I do dispute your assertion human population is not a problem.
      I believe we (not just white racist) are growing an imbalance on this planet, and I understand the resources in the sea are being netted into extinction as a result.  I agree Gandhi had a point which still applies today…. there is not enough for everyone’s greed!

    • Stephen says:

      02:50pm | 03/09/10

      Ronk,

      The world’s population has doubled since 1965. That’s 45 years ago. We are currently at 6.8 billion people, if we continue at our current pace we’ll have 13.6 billion people. Are you saying this is sustainable?

      I like how you play the racist card to try to validate your point.

      I don’t think Gandhi was thinking of a world population of 6.8 or 13.6 billion people when he coined that phrase.

    • Ronk says:

      09:25pm | 12/09/10

      Stephen, the world’s population will never again double, That’s not just me satying that it’s the UN. And yes Gandhi’s statement was in response to exactly the sort of argument that is being put here that population growth needs to be “controlled”. Gandhi was highly intelligent. He knew that the rates populatioin were growing it would double in the 40 years after his death. He knew it wasn’t a problem thoygh, unlike those who claimed it would be the deathknell of India in particular. Now India has 3 times the population it had when he said that, and Indians on average are much better off.

    • Tim says:

      09:00am | 02/09/10

      Whats that Ian? orry mate. I didn’t catch that. I’m too busy munching on a pork chop, with some snags cooking on the barbie.

      Is this some sort of joke? Basically your trying to tell me that the world is dying quicker because we (Australians) eat too much meat and/or fish? I think Sheedy’s Left Foot summed it up quite nicely.

      “My not eating meat on a Monday or fish on a Friday will not change any of this, so perhaps rather than weak gimmicks the brains trust that came up with this ‘solution’ could look at overpopulation in impoverished nations rather than the food consumed in a wealthy, relitively self sufficent advanced global economy? “

      Couldn’t have said it better myself.

    • Tim says:

      09:19am | 02/09/10

      You’re eating snags and pork chops on a BBQ for breakfast?

    • Sahara says:

      09:22am | 02/09/10

      This is why people dislike vegetarians.

      This whole article is simply rabid vegetarianism cloaked in a shroud of environmentalism. It’s greenwash pure and simple.

      If I was told I had to share a room with either a born again Christian or a vegetarian, I choose the Christian every time. It has been my experience that born again Christians are far less preach than vegetarians.

      I’m sorry but giving up any of the major food groups is just bizarre. Giving up meat is no less bizarre than giving up vegetables. I know a number of people who eat next to nil vegetables who are perfectly healthy. Yet I wouldn’t adopt their diet for the same reason I wouldn’t become a vegetarian.

      Vegetarians have this irresistible urge to convert people to their bizarre eating habits. It’s because they know their diet is ridiculous and they feel that they can validate their own feeble excuse for a lifestyle if they can convert more people to it.

      You want to spot a vegetarian in a crowd? Look for the sickly looking person with a slightly yellow complexion who farts a lot.

      You want to be a vegetarian. Great frankly I don’t care but stop trying to tell me what I can and can’t or should and shouldn’t eat.

    • AliceC says:

      10:57am | 02/09/10

      @Sahara

      He’s not saying become a vegetarian, he’s just saying don’t eat red meat one night a week, and don’t eat fish on another. It won’t hurt you, and it won’t make you a vegetarian.

    • GreekSnake says:

      11:51am | 02/09/10

      @AliceC

      So he’s not saying become a vegetarian, he’s saying become a vegetarian 2 nights a week? Then what? 3 nights? Then 7? So you become a part-time vegetarian and slowly work towards it? Fail.

      I get my meat from a relative who owns a farm with plenty sheep, cows and pigs. These animals are bred and raised on that farm. We know a guy who comes by and cuts them up for us too. $300 for 1 cow and 2 sheep to be slaughtered and chopped up is VERY cheap. Of course with 2 weight training males in our household, meat is on the menu in every meal. Protein is important.

      Poor vegetarian weight lifters need to eat 9kgs of cottage cheese and another 4 kgs of tofu to get the same protein that’s in 2 steaks. Please don’t push the “there’s protein in vegetarian foods too!” card. I’ve heard it all before.

    • KH says:

      12:55pm | 02/09/10

      GreekSnake - well bully for you - you have a friend with a farm…...most people don’t.  Commercial farming is actually quite draining in terms of resources, particularly water - every step of the way from breeding to putting it in plastic containers for sale.  Cutting down 1 day a week of red meat will have an impact on this enormous use of resources which aren’t going to last forever.  The writer is not pushing vegetarianism!  I mean seriously, do people actually read these articles?  I can’t believe there are people who can’t imagine a meal without red meat in it.

    • Flamingo says:

      01:28pm | 02/09/10

      @KH, umm, i think water will last forever, there is the same amount on this planet now as there ever has been and i don’t think it going anywhere. 
      I will eat red meat and fish whenever i feel like it, its my choice. I’m trying to work out how it is unsustainable to eat meat in 2050?  We produce meat now on farms, we can produce fish in farms so how is this going to run out? Guess what, we also produce vegetables in farms!  How much resources does vegetable farming use KH?

    • Talya says:

      07:05pm | 02/09/10

      @Sahara

      eek, Im a vegetarian and a Christian. looking for a roomie by any chance? I promise to keep the farts to a minimum, and my sickly complexion is more of a warm sunshine yellow, so that’s nice.

      My ‘rabid vegetarianism’ aside, the article does raise some good points. You will save money if you don’t eat meat as often, that’s simple economics. Secondly, the UN isn’t saying if you choose not to eat fish on friday, a fish is going to miraculously land on the table of a starving person in the congo. But it is saying that (especially fish) are being over-farmed, and we need to be consuming a little less, so there are still some fish left to make more fish for us to eat next year.

    • Dazeddazza says:

      12:14pm | 03/09/10

      Christians and the other religious groups have this irresistible urge to convert people to their bizarre religious habits. It’s because they know their faith is ridiculous and they feel that they can validate their own feeble excuse for a lifestyle if they can convert more people to it.  (Sahara, sorry, could not resist the urge to alter your paragraph!!)

    • Matt says:

      08:29pm | 03/09/10

      @GreekSnake For the record:
      2 x 300g beef steaks = 182g protein
      9kg cottage cheese = 1,237g protein
      4kg tofu = 328g tofu

      (Source: about.com)

    • Gordon says:

      09:48am | 02/09/10

      Last time I looked lots of Australia won’t grow rice, lentils, soybeans etc without massive amouts of water, fertiliser, and probably other scary stuff like pesticides and big noisy tractors. It will on the other hand grow a few sheep, cattle, goats & roos (not necessarily in that order in mind you) pretty much by itself with space left over for koalas and a reffo or two. How much meat you eat, or not, is your choice for good health reasons or ethics or whatever you like. But please stop dressing it up in enviro-saintliness. It’s bullshit.

    • lv says:

      12:02pm | 02/09/10

      Sure, you can do as you suggest. If everyone cut down their meat consumption by about 80%, not the 15% sugested here.
      Does ANYONE who has commented here actually work in meat production?

    • SalC says:

      02:20pm | 02/09/10

      How about we eat more local produce so the poor farmers don’t have to plough their crops back into the earth?

    • Pedro says:

      09:50am | 02/09/10

      Considering Australia is one of the biggest producers of organic beef, a vast majority of which comes from the outback, while urban sprawl continues to swallow prime agricultural land suited for growing vegetables and water supplies are always decreasing (at least in the murray darling). I wonder where some of this ‘sustainable’ figures come from. VERY LITTLE MEAT IN AUSTRALIA IS FACTORING FARMED, most is rain-fed sustainable farming systems.

      Nothing like getting environmental advice from a ‘social commentator’. As a lot of people mentioned already the world population is going up, plus whats the first sign of a country lifting their standard of living - that’s right red meat consumption goes up.

    • lv says:

      12:08pm | 02/09/10

      So do their obesity levels and levels of the ‘diseases of affluence’. 

      You seem to have forgotten that pigs are turned into ‘meat’, as are chickens and that well over 90% of those products are factory farmed.

    • Gregg says:

      09:52am | 02/09/10

      There are probably many families already eating less meat per annum than their predecessors just because of cost alone so they do not need too much encouragement and whilst I’m partial myself to a good barbeque, grill, stew, stirfry or whatever, it is also possible to have extra tasty meals without meat or seafood and that gets practised probably more than two days a week on average.
      ”  Bureau of Rural Sciences reported in 2007 that of Australia’s 96 federally managed fish stocks, 1 in 6 were overfished or subject to overfishing. Australian fish stocks have declined so much that Australia now imports about seventy-five percent of our nation’s seafood consumption. ”
      does seem to be something of an errant assumption for if only 1 in 6 of fish stocks are so affected, I’m sure the 5 in 6 could more than make up for it and I think the true reason for imports is like everything else - price!

      It seems to be something that always gets entirely ignored and it doesn’t matter whether it’s going to be plasma screens , autos or prawns when some one is looking to earn an hour that people in some asian countries will get in a whole month, you do not have to be too good on arithmetic to come up with the answer to cost/price effect.

      An interesting view on google earth is the extent of fish farms on all the Chinese coast and offshore islands, an answer to over fishing is it?

    • Jay Santos says:

      10:17am | 02/09/10

      Pity that Ian takes his fascistic dietary predilections from a morally bankrupt organisation like the United Nations.

      The spurious claim that “to reduce meat consumption…(and) help slow climate change as animal industries contribute over 30 per cent of Australia’s greenhouse emissions…” is disingenuous.

      Animals fart.  To the tune of 40% of total greenhouse gas emissions.

      If we don’t eat them they will keep breeding…and keep farting.

      What’s the solution to ruminant animal overcrowding?

      And then there’s the dogmatic takeaway “...increasing the intake of fruits and vegetables rather than meat and fish on two days per week will have a positive impact…”.

      Sure.

      Need land for that.  Lots and lots of land. 

      Water too…unless you’re also advocating the use of GM science to improve crop yields.

      It would probably come as no surprise if Ian also lament the continued urban sprawl and loss of forests to farmland too.

      Maybe Ian could cut down on all that gas-belching, planet-killing air travel.

    • libertarian vegetarian says:

      11:58am | 02/09/10

      Quote” If we don’t eat them they will keep breeding…and keep farting.”

      Actually, they don’t breed, we breed them. The vast majority are artificially inseminated and bred at a far more prolific rate rate than would happen naturally.
      So if we don’t keep eating them we won’t keep breeding them and we certainly won’t have to keep fishing the living daylights out of the oceans so we can feed fish to chickens, pigs or cows.

    • Gregg says:

      01:12pm | 02/09/10

      You could alway do what a US dairy farmers organisation ordained to up the gate price of milk and that was about 140,000 good dairy cows got clobbered.
      So we just bump off all those farting beasts and plow them in for blood and bone enrichment of our poorer quality soils, just like we could with all the feral horses, goats, camels etc..
      And any Koala killers out there looking for a job for they’re eating themselves out of trees too.

    • Ken says:

      01:36pm | 02/09/10

      Has anyone done the maths on how much land is required to grow “non-meat” produce vs meat produce to provide the same nutritional value?

      And is there a study on how much methane 6 billion vegetarians produce vs 6 billion omnivores?

      Then we can stack the numbers up and make quantifiable arguments.  Right now the argument only provides one side of the balance sheet.

      And if you want to believe in arguments like these, I have an investment opportunity for you that will generate hugh incomes, but I just don’t mention costs.

    • libertarian vegetarian says:

      09:29pm | 02/09/10

      Well Ken the CSIRO does have that info but as they are now totally in the pocket of the Meat and Livestock Assoc they won’t let you have it.
      Reality is there is far more land (and water)  used to grow crops to feed to livestock than is used to grow food to be fed to humans. 
      Recycling plants through animals is NOT an efficient use of resources.
      Same with farmed fish. They fish out the oceans to catch food they feed to other fish so we can eat them…... bizarre. The oceans are also being fished out to provide food for chickens and pigs (so we can eat them) and in the be all and end all of wastefullness, drink the forced lactation of the poor dairy cow.

    • Likes Joining Dots says:

      03:02pm | 04/09/10

      @ libertarian vegetarian
      I have to ask, if the CSIRO won’t let us know the details, how do you know them with such certainty?
      Also, don’t you think “poor forced dairy cows” is rather emotive?  If you had ever seen a dairy farm you might know the “poor forced” cows line up willingly to be milked in the morning or are they just dumb animals as you imply?

    • Gordo says:

      10:18am | 02/09/10

      Phew, this article has got the rabid carnivores out today…

      All the article is saying is that there is no harm in each of us doing our own little bit.  If it makes us feel good then fine, if it actually helps then even better.

      We just need to change our outlook and try and focus outwards and not inwards.  There is too much negativity in the world…

      I’ve been vegetarian for a while as I don’t really want to think about the deaths of animals just for my benefit.  Each to their own however…

      Regarding vegetarians all being boring and people rather being locked in a room with a happy clappy Christian…  I still drink like it’s going out of fashion and if I was locked in a room with you I’d be nicking your cigs and chatting up your wife!

      I just wouldn’t be holding a lamb kebab whilst doing it!

    • Macca says:

      11:16am | 02/09/10

      @Gordo. hate to pull you up on a technicality, but just not so sure how much ‘meat’ is in a Lamb Kebab

    • Tash says:

      10:21am | 02/09/10

      Exactly what is the big deal people?? I haven’t eaten meat in 20 years because as a 7 year old I decided it was disgusting. No major health issues, no anemia, and I probably save way more on my grocery bill than most people. And it’s the little bit I can do to reduce impact on the planet. The level of ‘you can’t tell me not to eat what I want’ in this conversation is hilarious. It’s just not a big deal to give up a few servings of meat.

    • Macca says:

      10:29am | 02/09/10

      @Tash, what if we went the other way and asked you to give up a few servings of Veg / fruit, How would you feel if you were told that for 2 days a week you could only eat meat? (obvious health issues aside)

    • I eat meat too says:

      11:16am | 02/09/10

      @Macca, your question is irrelevant and misses the point. Where in the article does it say you ‘have’ to go without meat for 2 days a week? It’s merely a suggestion for people looking to help our planet and improve their health. If those things don’t interest you, ignore the suggestion….

    • Macca says:

      11:41am | 02/09/10

      @IEMT; “Promoting Meatless Mondays in Australia”,

      Sorry, thats 1 day a week, my bad.

    • jack says:

      10:42am | 02/09/10

      what is it with these government and ABC types who always want to be telling everyone else what to do?

    • I eat meat too says:

      10:53am | 02/09/10

      Thanks Tash for one of the few unhysterical comments. Seriously people calm down. The article is not suggesting you become vegetarian, it is suggesting you consider going without meat for ONE day a week to improve your health and help the planet. It’s really not that hard or alarming…..

    • Jay Santos says:

      11:10am | 02/09/10

      “...help the planet…”

      Spare me the misanthropic high-school melodrama…the planet doesn’t need ‘saving’ from omnivores.

      What it does need is an end to such bogus and patronising statements for an inherently specious argument.

      And a greater control on the number of human beings.

      Let’s start by forgiving all Third World debt and putting an end to their crippling poverty and hunger in exchange for the mass sterilisation of their populations.

      No better way to test the mettle of the “Planet Savers”.

    • Muttley says:

      04:06pm | 02/09/10

      Jay, what a digusting suggestion. Mass sterilisations? This has been tried before. Europe in the late 30’s i believe….i think you need to increase the number of little red pills you’re taking

    • Shane says:

      04:48pm | 02/09/10

      So Jay Santos says “Spare me the misanthropic high-school melodrama…” then launches into exactly that.
      What is all of the screeching hysteria about how it is their “right” to eat meat. What a load of rubbish and that’s not even the point!
      Have one day without meat per week - your colon will thank you for it.

    • Justin says:

      11:06am | 02/09/10

      Soylent Green Sundays would help too.

    • AdamC says:

      11:09am | 02/09/10

      I used to be a vegetarian for philosophical reasons, until I realised I didn’t believe in the religion anymore. Now I’m like a lapsed Catholic of a carnivore, who tucks into our great pantheon of meat, poultry and seafood with gleeful voraciousness. (Quite frankly, nowadays I question whether something is a meal if it doesn’t contain meat. Maybe cheese at a stretch.)

      While I don’t believe in it anymore, I understand and respect the principles of philosophical vegetarianism. I certainly do not buy the health and sustainability-driven push for vegetarianism. The health-based arguments seem highly spurious to me - especially in a practical sense - and, like most sustainability arguments, the anti-meat case is based on speculation and glorified crystal-ball gazing.

      Let’s face it, this article is just another manifestation of the trend to fetishise middle-class self-denial as some kind of secular penance. It’s rubbish.

    • Ronk says:

      10:30am | 03/09/10

      Yes it’s interesting the underlying anti-Christian basis of this article, seeking to replace it with the Green “religion”. Very obvious in the way he chooses “meatless Mondays” when you’d think it would be easier and more logical to build upon the existing and centuries-old Catholic penance of meatless Fridays. Then as if to underline the anti-Catholic point he adds that he wants “fishless Fridays” (of course Catholics and many other people traditionally uusally eat fish on Fridays).

    • Ella says:

      11:11am | 02/09/10

      While the suggestion that overpopulation by the worlds poor is the major problem is quite true the problem is that the only thing we know that definitely works at stopping people reproducing is raising their standard of living. Which means that each individual person would be using more resources. If we in Western countries agreed to a little less meat, we could raise the standard of living in other countries (give them a little more meat) and bring the population down.

    • Gregg says:

      11:23am | 03/09/10

      That’s a little too simple Ella for the worlds rich/poor is possibly something of the old 20/80 factoring and that is 20% is causal for 80% effect and in this case the rich 20% probably contribute to something like 80% of consumption for most things on the planet.
      Whether or not us shipping a bit of meat to Africa/asia or where ever will stop them procreating is another matter as they could say thankyou very much, I’ll have to hunt/scavenge/till/grow less now and what will I do with all this extra time now!
      Aha! and all that meat is raising my red blood cells and libido too

      Perhaps the change of diet and causal new deaths could balance but somehow I uspect we would see a new explosion in population.
      There is in fact a renowned black female author who claims that Africa is a basket case because the west keeps filling the basket with aid.

      I suppose that is akin to saying lets withdraw indigenous aid and let them get yams and witchety grubs etc. or die out.

    • Andrew says:

      11:21am | 02/09/10

      Why not instead encourage Australians to eat Kangaroo meat as it’s far better sustainability wise? Much less likely to get a anti vegetarian response.

      Also I don’t eat fish so I already apparently support fish free friday, whoops.

    • Andy D says:

      12:04pm | 02/09/10

      What about rabbit? Until the 70s more rabbit was consumed in Australia than chicken.

    • Sam says:

      12:14pm | 02/09/10

      Because it’s gross.

    • Macca says:

      02:24pm | 02/09/10

      @Andrew, I’m all for more accesible Kangaroo meat at the Butcher

    • NT says:

      03:17pm | 02/09/10

      @ Macca, move to the Territory, we can buy Kangaroo, Camel etc from most of the butcher’s in town. The small grocery store across the road from me has roo tails in the freezer.

    • papachango says:

      05:25pm | 02/09/10

      I love a roo fillet on the BBQ myself and its way cheaper than steak. PETA would be horrified (as if I care) but Greenpeace actually do advocate this.

      I still like a good eye fillet, but happy to substitute with roo, rabbit (stewed with mustard cream sauce provencal style), fish and yes even the odd vegetarian dish. But I do it because I like all these things not because some interfering moral busybody tells me I have to.

    • Gregg says:

      11:30am | 03/09/10

      @ Sam,
      You’ve never had the bunny cooked the right way for over cooked it can be very dry and stringy but done nicely, it can be tender, yummy and healthier than fatty chicken.
      And even goat meat done the right way is not too bad either and plenty of feral goats in places like the Flinders Ranges that harvesting a few would help nature.
      A couple of years back the Queensland government was doing wholesale slaughter of brumbies, tens of thousands of them and horse meat is alright too.

    • N says:

      12:32pm | 02/09/10

      So let me get this straight; demand is outstripping supply and you want to reverse this trend by encouraging people to eat less? The root of this problem, as others have implied, is overpopulation. Until this is addressed, I’ll advocate that wealthier nations consume as they please, forcing third world nations to address there populous sizing issues.

      I for one can’t understand (perhaps someone can help me here), how a family in the third world, already struggling desperately decides to keep having children? Surely common sense would say; “we are struggling, another mouth to feed is an additional burden, let’s not do that….” Its basic instinct not to breed when conditions are poor, animals get it, why not humans?

    • Leigh says:

      02:52pm | 02/09/10

      and further to that, how is me not getting my weekly dose of baby lamb going to help this third world family?

    • KH says:

      03:23pm | 02/09/10

      They aren’t ‘choosing’ to breed?  It isn’t just food the west has better access to…...contraception is also an issue in the third world.  Not to mention some strange religious beliefs that discourage the use of it (and active interference from the church, notably catholics), and also cultures/religions that don’t have freedom for women.  The birth rate has gone down in the west because women have more choices in life (the merits of that is a whole different argument, so lets not get touchy here), where women in the third world don’t have these options.  Lack of education will also be a problem.  There are probably more reasons….........I don’t think it is a simple as ‘stop breeding’.

    • papachango says:

      05:52pm | 02/09/10

      KH is right, as well as contraception, education and freedom of women is a big issue. All they’re able to do in some of these countries is stay at home and breed. Overcome that and, as well as righting a terrible wrong, you’ll slow down population growth. However it will be very hard to overcome, as often it’s deeply rooted in culture, and having leftwing cultural relativists ignore the problem doesn’t help.

      Also, to be fair on third world families, they don’t see it as an extra mouth to feed rather an extra pair of hands to work, and to look after them when they get old. They don’t have these incredible luxuries like life insurance, superannuation, a retirement pension etc.

      Certianly the Catholic church’s attitude to contraception leaves much to be desired, but i would’nt pick on just them - check the majority religion of most of the countries with the highest fertility rate - Niger, Yemen etc.

    • Ronk says:

      10:20am | 03/09/10

      In rich developed countries with generous social security systems, children are a liability. In poor subsistence economies with no social security, every extra child is an asset - another pair of hands to work the fields, another person who can possibly land a cash job and support the family, and a greater chance that there will be somebody to support Mum & Dad in their old age. Please don’t assume that poor (or non-white) equals stupid, it’s extremely offensive.

    • Ronk says:

      11:30am | 03/09/10

      btw KH and papachango, please cut out the sectarian put-downs. The worldwide fertility rate for Catholics is actually LOWER than the rate for non-Catholics. Contraception isn’t the only way of reducing fertility, and it’s the most expensive way, in all senses of the word. People in third world countries struggling with poor sanitation, lack of fresh water and necessary life-saving medicines, lack of a nutritious and varied diet, corrupt rulers and violent uprisings, are insulted when rich white westerners toss them billions of contraceptives and say ‘there you go we’ve solved all your problems, aren’t we kind to you?”. They don’t refuse to use contraceptives because they are “oppressed” by some imaginary “active interference by the Catholic Church”, but because they exercise their human right to rationally choose not to use them. Nobody is forced to become or remain a Catholic unless he chooses to, and Catholic leaders have got better things to do than to go around to people’s houses to search for and destroy contraceptives as your weird conspiracy theory seems to suggest they do.

    • MissChic says:

      11:17am | 06/09/10

      @ N,

      I think its incredibly condescending and ignorant of you to state that they should just ‘stop breeding’ as though they are not human beings.
      Being born in an impoverished state doesn’t mean they don’t have any dignity or human desires. It doesn’t mean they don’t suffer from the same human flaws as we do.

      You also seem to have a very primitive and selfish understanding of the world, and are very apathetic to the plights and situations of others. A bit of compassion and empathy would be nice, after all, you can afford it living in your decadent developed country.

      I asked the same question to my mother a long time ago as a child (“Why can’t they stop having babies so they don’t continue overpopulation”) and she said, “In traditional rural societies an extra child is seen as an extra pair of hands to help with the family”.

      Also, these people have to contend with everything Ronk has rightfully pointed out, lack of anything to have a proper, decent and hygienic life - how could they have money to buy condoms?
      These people have needs just as everyone else has - the need for human companionship and its extremely cruel to say “You should stop having sex if you are not going to use a condom.” when many don’t have access to it or even the mind to think about these things when their survival is at stake.

      Economics and capitalism of the Western Governments has also ensured that they create a drain in those countries to ensure they stay poor so they can remain exploited.

      Large corporations take advantage of the poor there. I’m not asking that they get paid some unreasonable sum - but the companies involved also has to pay these people a decent wage to allow their survival and not undercut them just because they are poor and their countries lack industry standards.

      Many corporations are just reeking corruption and bleeding out the country ironically instead of having the effect of helping the country by employing people. (i.e. Illegal toxic dumping, Poisonous/Illegal by-product imports for consumption to third world country, etc).

      If you people truly understood the true cost of the food you are buying, the consumer products you are buying subsidised by artificially manipulated economics, the Governments involved and the exploitation of third world countries to achieve this - you will wake up and do even the smallest bit you can.

      A collective effort by all to achieve a goal, no matter how small or insignificant it seems when divided, becomes a very strong ripple and effect which can be felt by all.

      The cheap meats and products you are afforded today are many, many times higher cost-wise in truth than it is today.

      And all this so you can enjoy this artificially created, decadent life. Its not going to last, everything that is happening now is not very sustainable, and it is very damaging to the environment - forget global warming, lets talk about a sustainable and compassionate human effort to make a difference.

    • Adrienne L says:

      12:44pm | 02/09/10

      I recently became a vegetarian with the main priority being animal welfare. Since then I have grown an entirely new (and positive) attitude toward food, eating and cooking. It seems to make less and less sense to me why meat-eating is so prolific in our country when we can get along just as well - scrap that - better without the needless killing of animals (and the effect of both the industy on the environment and meat’s impact on our long-term health).

      I encourage anyone reading this to allow themselves to be aware of what is happening to animals, yes, even in the Australian meat industry. Too many people let themselves be ignorant of how meat gets to their tables.

    • Flamingo says:

      01:35pm | 02/09/10

      Animals get bred, then killed, then sent to butcher, i buy the meat.  I know exactly how meat gets to my table and i have no issue with it whatsoever.  I eat all types of meals, including vegetarian, because i choose too.  And this is not being ignorant Adrienne, far from it, i have considered my choices and this is the choice i made.

    • Adrienne L says:

      02:16pm | 02/09/10

      Flamingo my point was more toward the experiences of animals - yes they do go through this process but there is a lot more to it. I feel that true awareness in this matter is knowing how animals are treated and viewing such things with compassion and not apathy or denial.

      I feel that many people are callous to the suffering of animals because it is convenient for them and their meat-eating habits - though I don’t imply that this is the case for you.

    • Markus says:

      04:37pm | 02/09/10

      Adrienne
      Happy to hear you feel better about yourself since your diet change.
      Fact is, however, that most do not share your outrage and disgust at slaughtering an animal that was bred for the sole purpose of eating.
      No amount of accusations of ignorance or moral superiority will change this.

    • Gregg says:

      11:45am | 03/09/10

      @ Markus,
      Maybe you need to lighten your load with the burden of all that meat eating for Adrienne was not on any great moral crusade or expressing disgust and if anyone has outrage it is you suggesting A had.
      Cannot people express a feeling without being ridiculed and A certainly was not saying anything about numbers.

      If the truth be known, most people in western countries probably reside in cities and the closest they might get to a farm animal in many cases is possibly seeing one in a paddock while travelling past.
      So they do have minimal appreciation for a farm animals life.
      If you have pets at home it does not take too much of a shift to understand that all animals will have a heart and brain power.

      Even chooks, mice and kangeroos do their own thinking.
      Maybe you and Flamingo are on guilt trips your subconscious has not fully revealed to you!

    • Richard says:

      12:50pm | 02/09/10

      From another perspective, I thought it was interesting to learn on the Gruen Transfer last night that young men’s body image is at its lowest level ever.

      There is increasing pressure for men in their 20’s, if they want to be successful in arousing the amourous desires of young women, to have well-developed musculature, especially upper-body size, yet remaining lean and toned and “ripped”.

      Well, there is no easy way around this, in order to create and maintain that type of body shape requires protein, and lots of it: specifically, meat or eggs with every meal, with whey protein shakes post-workout and prior to sleeping, necessarily providing a total daily protein intake of at least 1g per kilogram of body weight.

      When it comes down to it, if you are asking me to choose between doing what it takes to allow my genetically hardwired hormonal instinctual drive to have sex with the most beautiful, fertile, feminine partners to be expressed, or changing my diet for some vaugue reason regarding an indeterminate threat to an abstract concept like the environment; guess what I am going to be choosing?

    • Markus says:

      04:32pm | 02/09/10

      The ideal male body image has not changed since the sculptures of ancient Greece.
      The increasing pressure seems to have only coincided with the increase in obesity.

    • Shane says:

      04:53pm | 02/09/10

      Richard - glad to know you think a concept such as the “environment: is abstract. Having said that, with such a vapid argument you’ve made me realise we should not just be controlling fertility in the third world, but the first too.
      Do us a favour and make sure you’re wearing a little rubber coat while you’re having sex with the most beautiful, fertile, feminine partners to minimse the people like you about. Cheers.

    • david says:

      01:14pm | 02/09/10

      perhaps man is a herbivore as our teeth aren’t sharp enough to eat raw meat. Also most people would find it repulsive to eat raw meat off the bone. Yet we find fruit off a tree to be attractive. We only eat meat unless if it has been prepared and cooked.

      Carnivores use their teeth and claws to rip open the herbivore prey - just to get at the vegetation in their bellies. It may be where all the nutrition is.

      I think only the vultures eat the actual meat.

    • Tim says:

      02:22pm | 02/09/10

      Haha,
      David Attenborough you ain’t.

      Have you never eaten beef carpaccio? Raw meat. mmmm delicious.

    • david says:

      03:21pm | 02/09/10

      I am sure after the meat has been prepared and beaten, oiled, salted and seasoned and a variety of toppings have been added it tastes delicious.

      But if you were to present most people with a raw chicken leg, an uncooked t-bone steak, or a raw lamb chop served at room temperature - nobody would eat it.

      If you can - it does not prove you are a carnivore - only that you have very strange attractions to meat….

    • Muttley says:

      04:03pm | 02/09/10

      Herbivores dont possess canine teeth. Yet we possess both canines and molars (grinding teeth) which tells us we have evolved to eat both. Only vultures eat meat? What plants have you been smoking?

    • Rabid says:

      01:27pm | 02/09/10

      My ancestors didnt dodge saber tooth cats and hide from dinosaurs so i could exclusively eat lettuce 7 days aweek!!!!

    • fish says:

      04:27pm | 02/09/10

      I’d check your facts on this one mate as dinosaurs and men didn’t exist at the same time (unless your a creationist of course).

    • N says:

      04:34pm | 02/09/10

      This has got to be one to the most radically idealistic “documentaries” I have ever seen. Comparing ordinary everyday individuals who eat meat to Nazi’s and the assumption that factory farms are akin to concentration camps and the holocaust; fair and balanced indeed.  I can only imagine the funding for such tripe to come from the likes of PETA.

      If anything this film re-affirms two things;
      1) Animal liberationists are a dangerous breed.
      2) Joaquin Phoenix is an insipid twit.

      Try this and make up your own mind: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0exLa6saV9o

    • Ryan says:

      01:38pm | 02/09/10

      Wheres Sam Kekovich when you need him?!

    • Shane says:

      04:57pm | 02/09/10

      It’s fair to say that if your argument relies on Sam Kekovich, it is inherently flawed !

    • Kermit says:

      02:14pm | 02/09/10

      @ Pedro - If you actually did a little research you would find that more than 90% of food animals are factory farmed in Australia. Check out ‘Animal Law in Australia and New Zealand’ for some of the stats.

      And @Sahara, to me it seems like there are A LOT MORE defensive meat eaters getting on here to defend their right to eat animals than vegetarians preaching the gospel of an animal free diet. In my experience it’s the meat eaters who seem to get offended and ultra defensive/offensive whenever the topic of vegetarianism is brought up. Perhaps it would help to understand some of the benefits behind vegetarianism and why people actually follow this path instead of holding onto dogmatic beliefs that contribute NIL to the discussion.

      By the way, I’m not a vegetarian.

    • Ronk says:

      11:54am | 03/09/10

      ISTM it’s only the vegetarians who are trying to impose their dogmatic beliefs. The rest of us are merely saying “please don’t tell us that we have some sort of sacred duty to cut out ANY food from our diets, let alone one or more entire food groups, whether it’s meat, fish, vegetables, fruit, or whatever”. We are not “defensive meat eaters”, some of us eat little or no meat but we are merely defending our right to eat, or not eat, any food we damn well choose, no matter what interfering busybodies tell us we ought to eat or not eat. We are not your children, we are adults, so stop telling us what we’re allowed to eat. If you don’t want to eat meat, or want to eat 15% less of it, fine, enjoy your choice. But just shut up and stop telling other people that they ought to make the same choice you have made.

    • Karl says:

      03:05pm | 02/09/10

      Who eats red meat every single day? I don’t.

    • Macca says:

      03:45pm | 02/09/10

      What does Dolphin red or white?

    • Ronk says:

      09:29pm | 12/09/10

      Not me, it’s always brown when I eat it every day (sometimes twice a day).

    • facepalm says:

      03:20pm | 02/09/10

      It’s depressing to see that nobody has addressed the real issue - our antiquated methods of food production. Despite all the advancements that have come over the last century or two, agriculture in general hasn’t changed a great deal since the neolithic revolution, and it’s obvious that it has to if it is to meet the demands of larger populations.

      And don’t mistake me as an advocate for GM foods. Genetic modification has proven to be a dud so far - it’s greatest accomplishment to date is creating a new way for biotech companies to make a ton of cash by forcing farmers to buy seeds every season (since every GM plant is engineered not to produce seeds), and it has created the preposterous scenario in which biotech companies have actually taken out PATENTS on their GM creations (the most infamous example being Monsanto’s “pig patent”).

    • I LOVE meat says:

      03:20pm | 02/09/10

      What do u eat if you don’t have meat?

    • Macca says:

      03:53pm | 02/09/10

      Spam and chips

    • TracyS says:

      05:21pm | 02/09/10

      I eat meat and fish because I like to eat meat and fish (prepared well). I also believe that lean meat and fish are healthy additions to the diet and contain nutrients that are harder to access in a purely vegetarian diet - they are good sources of protein, vitamin B12, minerals such as calcium, zinc and iron, and fish in particular is a good source of omega 3 fatty acids. Yes of course these nutrients can be obtained in vegetarian foods, but it is a lot harder (Do you know how much dark green leafy vegetables you really need to get adequate iron in the diet?) unless of course you rely on processed foods (TVP, tofu, soy protein products) and supplements.

      In my household, we buy free range products and locally produced products where possible to reduce our environmental footprint. I see no reason to deprive myself of part of my diet which I enjoy and which I know to be nutritious.

    • thomas says:

      05:30pm | 02/09/10

      it is cheaper and kinder to animals and the planet (and therefore ourselves) not to eat meat, or at least consume much less. but people tend to be selfish so what to do… we don’t own the planet. think about that folks. really think about it

    • Jayne says:

      07:11pm | 02/09/10

      Working in the complimentary health sector the biggest problem encountered is protein malnutrition. I have to tell people how important it is and try to get them eating more. Telling people to cut out fish and meat 2 days a week when they are not eating it that often is only going to exacerbate the problem. It’s just not good enough to eat fruit and vegetables…...quality grains, nuts and seeds need to be consumed. What happens then is that we take quinoa and other rare grains from overseas and shift the burden of production and add transport costs. I certainly agree we need to consider if we really need to take fish oil capsules and rapidly deplete world fish stocks but not eating gippsland beef and lamb is not going to aid the environment.

    • Med student says:

      08:33pm | 02/09/10

      I love meat (especially bacon… and ham….), and fish but yeah, generally I really think we need to eat a more balanced diet - this means less meat, and more veggies and healthy grains. I don’t know if most people realise this, but the recommended daily intake of meat (according to the latest research) is only the size of a deck of playing cards, and red meat is only supposed to be eaten once or twice a week.

      It’s a problem how entrenched people are in their ignorant unhealthy habits. If you don’t want to change for the environment or animal welfare on some sort of thick-headed “no one tells me what to eat” principle, then that’s your choice… but you’re only hurting yourself in the long run.

    • Judge Holden says:

      09:26pm | 02/09/10

      I’ll qualify my post by saying that I’m a meat producer, but I have a few problems with the reasoning behind this article:

      Firstly, red meat production in Australia is mostly free range production on pastoral lands that are not suited to cropping, only to grazing. It’s neither practical nor environmentally responsible to try and grow vegetables or even cereals on most of our continent.

      Secondly, the livestock carbon cycle is a lot more complex than the 30% figure indicates. Research by the CSIRO has found vast differences in methane production depending on the diet of the animals and so this figure may differ greatly from the often quoted IPCC numbers, which are based on European farms. Also, livestock are not burning fossil fuels, they are converting the carbon in plants into energy and protein. This carbon has been sequestered from the atmosphere (probably it’s the emissions from a coal station!) and this forms part of a perfectly natural carbon cycle and can’t really be compared to burning coal or petroleum.

      I always find it interesting that people will call others ignorant, and then quote an entirely slanted link aurthoured by extremist animal rights movements as their source of enlightenment.

      As a farmer I often slaughter my own livestock for their meat. It’s a messy business but it also makes one appreciate ones food and the process by which it came to be on your plate.

      Personally I think that people probably do eat too much meat and should try and balance their diets better for the numerous health benefits, but don’t try and cloak your particular beliefs under an environmental or moral guilt trip.

    • Gregg says:

      12:08pm | 03/09/10

      What you say Judge is all very true and natural sustainability is best done by land production where it is best suited.
      It seems some real extremists are afoot with their views and the article indicated that it’s peoples budgets that can be helped by eating meat/fish in moderation and that again is sustainability in action.
      Health and the enviroment are really add on factors and the first part of your last paragraph is very true, perhaps for some the second part too.

    • Don says:

      10:49pm | 02/09/10

      I love this sort of rubbish. How about we get all those nasty cattle farms up north to grow vegetables instead yeah? Oh, wait, the soil is crap for anything but cattle. But here am I letting facts get in the way of “feeling good” about yourself. By all means eat like a rabbit, you are certainly thinking like one.

    • Destry says:

      12:43am | 03/09/10

      “Australian fish stocks have declined so much that Australia now imports about seventy-five percent of our nation’s seafood consumption” - Yes, we buy it back from countries whose fishermen poach and destroy our seafood resources.

    • Billy Boiled says:

      02:43am | 03/09/10

      It makes a world of difference in swapping the day you eat sea food and red meat.
      Never really knew the benefit of allowing those little pollution factories cattle, sheep and pigs to live a little longer, its obvious to me the sooner you eat them the less pollution they cause.

    • Al says:

      08:05am | 03/09/10

      OK, how about this:
      I won’t eat red meat on Mondays, but will EVERY Friday.
      I won’t eat fish on Fridays, but will EVERY Monday.
      Yep, that made a HUGE difference, I simply swaped what I was eating on which day and I am ‘following their advice’!

    • DragonLass says:

      08:05am | 03/09/10

      First of all, I’m so sick of these “days” for causes, especially ones that use twee alliteration or bad puns to make their point.  If you want to educate the public about something, then fine, go ahead.  But don’t make up crap like “meatless mondays” to try and get your point across.  If the idea has merit it doesn’t need these silly made up days. 

      Secondly, using environmental reasons to get people to reduce meat eating is going down the wrong path.  Simply replacing meat with a vegetarian meal is not guaranteed to reduce the carbon footprint for that meal.  Things like lentils and chickpeas are mostly imported and have had to travel a long way to get here. 

      If concerned about the environment, then there needs to be a more encompassing approach than simply cutting out some meat.  One then needs to look at eating more locally grown foods, or growing your own etc.

    • Ronk says:

      11:37am | 03/09/10

      “Worldwide the countries embracing this concept include the USA, Britain, Canada, Brazil, Holland, Taiwan, Norway, Croatia and Japan.”
      Nonsense. No “country” has embraced the concept. Some individuals in each of these countries might have embraced it. Their governments and 100% of the population have not.

      “to lessen the risk of chronic preventable illness” i.e. my chronic borderline anaemia, my doctor has ordered me to eat at least one serve of meat every day.

    • Gordon says:

      01:06pm | 03/09/10

      Vegetables: what food eats

    • E says:

      02:39pm | 03/09/10

      this is part of normalising lowered standards of living. People will be able to present this excuse to themselves and others to cover up that they can no longer afford red meat.

      Its part of the the Green sin based narrative, where western whites and high standards of living are ‘bad’ and 3rd world poverty are ‘good’, and only the priest class (leftie pseudo-intellectuals trying to be philosopher kings and associated cronies) are allowed a high standard of living, modern medical care or a lifespan of greater than 50 years.

    • KT says:

      05:52pm | 03/09/10

      Eat less meat to lessen the risk of chronic preventable illness? Give me a break. Sure they recommend watching your red meat and processed meat intake to lower your risk of bowel cancer, but I wouldn’t exactly call this a chronic preventable illness!
      I do believe people could make more of an effort to watch portion sizes of the meat they eat, and a few extra vegetables never hurt anyone, but some of the issues in this article are a bit ridiculous.

    • MissChic says:

      11:29am | 06/09/10

      Being a relatively light (in comparison to the average Aussie) meat eater myself, I was wondering how most of you feel about eating animals such as dogs, cats, horses, etc bred for consumption - basically they are NOT house pets or were not house pets, they are livestock bred for slaughter.

      Just interested to know if your meat eating habits are prejudicial, after all, since many of you seem to be along the mindset of - “I know the animal is bred to die as meat on my plate.”

      I think eating more veggies are a great way to do one’s bit to be mindful of over consumption of meat.
      Its like the McDonalds effect - you upsize your meal because, why not? It’s just unnecessary over consumption.

      Just because you CAN doesn’t mean you SHOULD.

    • Tony Harris says:

      05:26pm | 08/09/10

      I read the article then a tiny bit of me hoped that the comment section would be devoid of vego-bashing. Who was I kidding?

      @Sahara “You want to spot a vegetarian in a crowd? Look for the sickly looking person with a slightly yellow complexion who farts a lot.”

      Oh come off it.

      @GreenSnake “Poor vegetarian weight lifters need to eat 9kgs of cottage cheese and another 4 kgs of tofu to get the same protein that’s in 2 steaks.”

      That’s just bull and you know it is. Protein is the least of a vegetarian or vegans worries.

      None of your justifications hold. It’s all a poor attempt at defending your tastebuds. I’m a strict vegan, and every vegetarian and vegan I know, are in perfect health.

      This guy seems keen to prove that vegos aren’t all yellow and weak: teararoaonveg.wordpress.com He’s walking the length of NZ to prove it. Good for him.

    • Earth says:

      10:13am | 06/08/11

      I like the raw foods diet. Well, I do after finding a video recipe on YouTube - ‘Raw Foods Diet 1 - Wombat Kitchen’. Now that’s enough to make you want a cow.

 

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