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Filed under: Diet, Environment, Food, Health, Meat Free Monday, Paul Mccartney, Rosemary Stanton, Vegetarianism

114 comments

It’s Monday, so I can tell you what Richard Branson is having for dinner. Well probably not exactly, but one thing is for sure, it won’t be meat. Why? Because it’s Meat Free Monday and he’s one of the faces of the iniative being run by Do Something! and the Frys Family Foundation, that encourages everyone to spend at least one day of the week not eating meat.

Meat free magic looks a bit like this

Wait – please keep reading. This is not a rant against eating meat. Meat is good and yummy but as Rosemary Stanton tells The Punch, the planet would be better off if we all just cut back how much of it we are eating, by just one day.

“This is not a call for extremism; it’s all about balance and eating. Also, it’s a call to do the right thing by our environment. We waste so much water and grain simply creating food for the cattle and sheep that we eat, so it’s also a good decision for the planet, too,” she says.

Here’s why. According to Stanton, Australians do not eat nearly enough plant foods. Going meatless is an easy way to expose yourself to a wider variety of vegetables, herbs and legumes. Not only that, it will also do wonders for your cholesterol and if you’re a man, lower your risk of bowel cancer.

“There is no evidence to suggest that eating meat gives you cancer. But research conducted by the World Cancer research Fund showed that cutting back on how much meat you eat lowers the risk of bowel cancer,” Dr Stanton says.

Australian dietary guidelines recommend people eat between 65-100g meat, 3 to 4 days per week. But Stanton says most Australians, particularly men, eat almost double that.

But here’s the good news. Dr Stanton says that by cutting back meat intake even once a week, you kind of balance things out.

Going meat free on Monday will also give back to the planet. “Plant productions have a much lower carbon footprint than meat. Sheep and cattle are one of the biggest producers of methane, which is detrimental to the environment,” she says.

And it’s also one way of fighting the current and annoying restaurant trend of charging extra for vegetables.

“You can pay up for $12 or so for a side serving of vegetable when you are eating out now and it encourages people to eat the wrong things. An ideal meal consists of half the plate of vegetables, one quarter grains and another quarter meat.”

But that’s the plate for every other day. Today is Monday so why don’t you ditch the meat and replace it with something delicious that is full of veggies. And if you’re lacking inspiration, Taste.com.au has some top ideas.

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114 comments

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- Phill says:
  
  11:09am | 26/11/12
  
  No thanks….Thai BEEF salad tonight!
  
  Reply
Pedro says:

01:20pm | 26/11/12

I think we should all do it - just hear the farmers whinge.
Roghan josh tonight. The lamb just melts in your mouth.
Maybe tomorrow it’ll be some pan fried haloumi and hummus…

Is it just me or do vegetarians vegans just seem to be bit inspiid ... no energy and all that?
Swingdog says:

01:36pm | 26/11/12

It’s you Pedro.

Still, I’m sure you’d be prepared to back it up, say by facing up in the nets to vegetarian Peter Siddle.

You could call him insipid as you take guard. I’m sure you’ll be fine.
Modern Primitive says:

03:09pm | 26/11/12

It’s not just you Pedro, there’s more than a few blogs from former vegetarians/vegans who say how much better they feel after they embraced meat again.
egg says:

03:11pm | 26/11/12

@Pedro, recent studies show that vegetarians/vegans are better in bed… so no, not that we have no energy, just that we save it up and expend it wisely.
William Smith says:

03:23pm | 26/11/12

After Pedro faces up to Peter Siddle he’s planning to step into the ring with Mike Tyson and show him who’s boss with his superior energy or something. Did you see any of Bill Clinton’s performances during the long presidential campaign in the United States? Clinton is a vegan and he seemed to have more than enough energy to me.
ronny jonny says:

04:28pm | 26/11/12

@Pedro, is it just me or are meat eaters fat gutted, smelly, arse cancer ridden, bad breathed, overly aggressive, heart attack candidates?
acotrel says:

04:32pm | 26/11/12

There is now an excellent independent butcher shop in Benalla. Right next to the safeway supermarket. - Another quality food outlet besides the independent fruit and vege shop about 100 metres up the road towards Wangaratta.
LIfe in our town is improving. All we need now is Hungry Jack’s hamburgers instead of Macca’s, and we be really flash !
I eat fish on Friday, and the fish shop in Thomas Street is great too !
- ronny jonny says:
  
  11:15am | 26/11/12
  
  I am meat free most days as I am an ethical meat eater. I only eat meat from animals that I have killed myself. Being that the hunter gatherer lifestyle isn’t all that realistic these days this means that I am 99% non meat eating by default. I do enjoy meat but can’t reconcile the realities of most meat production methods with my concience. Ethically produced meat is very expensive and a bit hard to source at times so the end result is that I am healthier and save money. It helps that I really love veggies. There is no complete answer to whether you should eat meat or not, all dietary systems have their drawbacks, the vast monocultore needed to feed us and our livestock grains and grasses is one of them. Individuals can decide for themselves but I think eating meat only a few nights a week and special occaisions can have nothing but benefits for animals and people.
  
  Reply
I hate pies says:

11:22am | 26/11/12

So how would you recommend we kill animals ronny? Are you suggesting that shooting them (which may not kill first shot) is more humane than stunning them before killing them?
Trinian says:

11:26am | 26/11/12

Must make BBQs at your place an interesting affair. “I’m just going out to get the meat. Has anyone seen my crossbow?”
EM says:

11:46am | 26/11/12

@ I hate pies: Like Ronny I only eat animals that I’ve killed myself and I have never wounded an animal in 20 years of hunting. If you hunt for ethical reasons, then it’s not too far a stretch to hunt ethically as well. I know my abilities and shoot within them. The animal has a quick death without the stresses that lead up to the commercial kill.

@ Trinian: BBQs at my place rock, when was the last time you were offered spit roast boar, venison steaks and goat & herb sausages at a BBQ? Beats the hell out of the cheap, poor quality crap 90% of the population buy from Coles
Tim the Toolman says:

12:01pm | 26/11/12

+1 EM and ronny.
I hate pies says:

12:08pm | 26/11/12

EM, you’ve killed everything you’ve shot at in the past twenty years first shot? Bollocks.
Trinian says:

12:34pm | 26/11/12

EM: no-one offers me spit roast boar - I’ve been a vegetarian for 16 years

Having said that, I think the “I only eat what I kill” crowd has something going for it because at least you would appreciate what you are getting. Still, it doesn’t exactly scale to 20 million people. Well, not without greatly expanded emergency departments
Stonemason says:

12:48pm | 26/11/12

This makes me laugh. Also smells like total rubbish.
Tim says:

01:24pm | 26/11/12

Do these ethical eaters only eat vegetables that they’ve grown as well?

Otherwise what’s the difference between a specifically farmed animal and one that you’ve killed yourselves?
small changes says:

02:56pm | 26/11/12

@Tim: I think Ronny meant more that he has issues with the whole process of meat production, not the method of finally killing the animal. Some aspects of raising animals for meat commercially are [in my opinion] inhumane; for example, the use of sow stalls. The process of being transported to and waiting at the abattoir is very stressful for animals, even if their death is swift and humane.
I have serious concerns with this system too, and while I do still eat meat, I’ve made small changes to try to be a bit more ethical in my eating habits. I will only purchase certified free range pork products (usually available at Woolies/Coles), and eat a lot of kangaroo in place of other red meats as it’s healthier and truly free range; in my opinion, it’s the more humane choice. If I could buy my meat direct from the farmer, see where the animals were kept and assure myself that they were living well, treated with respect and killed humanely, then I’d do that, but unfortunately it isn’t an option. I can, however, make a few small changes, and hey, if nothing else, cutting out meat once a week makes you more inventive with the way you prepare your veggies!
EM says:

03:08pm | 26/11/12

@ I hate pies: Yes. It’s a simple thing to do when you’re a) a good shot, and b) don’t take shots outside your abilities - I see a lot of animals I could most likely get, but I don’t take “most likely” shots. If you don’t think it’s possible then I’d say you have no experience with hunting and shooting - or you’re just a shit shot (I see enough of them at the range); too many people too eager to shoot the first thing they see.

@ Tim: My gripe with meat production isn’t (mainly) to do with the rearing of the cattle/sheep/etc, I don’t like the factory farming of pigs and chickens but most cattle and sheep in Aus have it pretty good. It’s the hell they go through from the minute they’re on the truck to the minute they’re stunned; I don’t like it, so I opt for an alternative. Everyone else is free to make their own choices, I have no opinions on other’s choices. But yeah, my way is not feasible for the wider population.

@ Trinian: That’s ok, I make a mean vego lasagna too.

It cuts down the amount of meat you eat, but that’s probably a good thing in the end. And it beats spending my weekends watching crap TV or living the “consumerist dream” at the mall.
ronny jonny says:

03:51pm | 26/11/12

@smallchanges, you are spot on. Though I do have issues with abattoirs, when one puts webcams in their facilty, I’ll believe the claims of humane treatment.
It is most definitley a first world luxury to able to pick and choose what you will and won’t eat and modern production methods have put good protein within reach of more people than ever in history. It’s hard to argue that it’s a bad thing but when a giant steak becomes daily fare it is wasted in my opinion. It leads to thoughtless consumption, no regard for animal welfare and no consideration of what is involved in delivering that juicy steak to your plate.
I believe killing your own meat is supremely ethical and have used that as a justification for my hunting for many years, it’s not a huge stretch to apply the same standards to all meat I eat. The animal I eat has lived wild and free. I’ve come along and killed it, usually with a minimum of fear and pain or none at all in ideal conditions, then I eat it. Even if there is initial wounding and a quick follow up, it still isn’t as bad as say, a tiger killing a deer or a fox killing a duck, these are most often long, drawn out painful deaths. I am merely a more humane predator. It’s not for everyone and my meat consumption is irregular at best but I think we can all afford to spend a bit more or eat a bit less and give some thought to where our meat comes from. The next most ethical option in my opinion would be game meat sourced by others, kangaroo in particular if you live in Aus, readily available, cheap and totally sustainable, it’s a shame to be putting all those millions of roos we shoot each year into pet food. Then there is fish from a well regulated fishery, such as ours. If I had a bit of land I’d raise and slaughter my own animals, no problem.
Trinian, I will happily cook shop meat for others if they wish to eat it and most do, I’m not a nut. If I don’t happen to have any venison or fish in the freezer, I’ll have bbq corn, asparagus, mushrooms, onion or even the notorious lentil burger…
I’m not trying to say we should all be veggoes or ethical meat eaters of vegans or anything else, this is what I do. I think we could all try for a bit of balance.
I hate pies says:

04:30pm | 26/11/12

EM, ahhh I know your type - you sit in a tree somewhere and wait for something to walk past and then you pick it off at point blank range and call it “hunting”
acotrel says:

04:40pm | 26/11/12

@EM
’ Beats the hell out of the cheap, poor quality crap 90% of the population buy from Coles ‘

Inspected crap, maintained under conditions to Australian food standards, controlled by state government officers, and raised by conscientious farmers in touch with the Department of Environment and Sustainability, and the Department of Primary industry, from monitored and genetically controlled stock
ronny jonny says:

04:46pm | 26/11/12

@ I hate pies, that’s one technique I have used successfully, depends on the target species. Stalking, hunting with dogs, tree stands, sitting in swamps, walking farms, spotlighting rabbits, you name it, I’ve done em all. For pure meat getting though it’s hard to beat a run down, rabbit infested farm and a good light. The farmer benefits, I benefit and the environment benefits. The rabbits, not so much.
I hate pies says:

05:15pm | 26/11/12

So, ronny jonny, you think a pack of dogs chasing a pig down and dragging it to the ground so you can kill it is ethical? Riiggghht
- Susan says:
  
  11:15am | 26/11/12
  
  I eat meat once a week. Interesting though that the secular rejects meat free Fridays. Plus, not eating meat does not necessarily engender any greater interest and activity in having vegetables. I wonder how many veges are in a serve of commercial vege lasagne for example. Or a meat free pizza. Or fish and chips. Aren’t these closer to the example foods many would have in place of meat?
  
  Reply
Moby Duck says:

11:34am | 26/11/12

Fish is a vegetable?
Anubis says:

11:46am | 26/11/12

@ Moby Duck - No. But I think some of the people that post to this forum may be closely related to vegetables
nihonin says:

11:50am | 26/11/12

‘Fish is a vegetable’.

Well they do only have a memory which lasts 5 seconds or some such, apparently.
Susan says:

03:51pm | 26/11/12

I did say fish and chips you lot. Lasagne isn’t a vegetable and nor is a pizza base. And of course your own oversights lead you to being the same nasty reactionary group one can always except on Punch. Always ready with a slap and a piece of meanness rather than actually showing an ounce of genuine interest.
Jaws says:

04:31pm | 26/11/12

Sorry nihonin….what were you saying??
- Cameron says:
  
  11:16am | 26/11/12
  
  Not sure about Meat free Mondays. I do Fat Friday. Be good during the week and then Friday you can eat whatever you so desire.
  
  Reply
subotic says:

11:53am | 26/11/12

In an act of compassion, I’ll be going “Pants Free Monday” and encourage everyone else who thinks that when people tell you what you should or shouldn’t do in relation to food or your eating habits you should just drop your pants and let them know what time it really is….
Gordon says:

01:17pm | 26/11/12

so Subotic…being rogered metaphorically makes you receptive to the real thing?
subotic says:

03:09pm | 26/11/12

Let’s hope so Gordon, coz I swear then next person telling me to not eat meat will certainly get a taste of my meat if they ain’t careful….
Gordon says:

03:54pm | 26/11/12

Let’s hope you never run across a 140kg gay vego bikie with strong opinions then!
- I hate pies says:
  
  11:23am | 26/11/12
  
  No way, I love meat. The problem isn’t that we eat too much meat per capita; the problem is that there’s too many people
  
  Reply
dancan says:

12:45pm | 26/11/12

eat people?
Angry_Of_Mayfair says:

01:01pm | 26/11/12

Soylent Green, anyone? If it reduced the impact our appalling overpopulation is having on the plant and got rid of the relentlessly spawning idiots, I’d be up for it!. Mmmmmmmm… Soylent Green & chips!
I hate pies says:

01:05pm | 26/11/12

Good solution dancan - we can start with all those fat westerners…ever seen a movie called Hotel Hell?
dancan says:

02:12pm | 26/11/12

No I haven’t pies but I am intrigued.

I don’t know about eating fat westerners though, human liver Foie gras anyone?
Angry_Of_Mayfair says:

02:54pm | 26/11/12

*planet. The smell of “long pig” sizzling on the stove distracted me. My gorgeous wife, Hannibal, is a whizz in the kitchen!
I hate pies says:

05:25pm | 26/11/12

dancan - it’s a ripper. A classic ‘80’s horror flick, where a farmer puts a cardboard cut-out deer on a road to trick unsuspecting passers by into crashing their cars. He then buries them in a field with just their heads poking out (they’re alive), and feeds them through a funnel. Then when they’re all fed up he pulls them out with his tractor and makes his special award winning bacon that people come from miles around to eat. He runs a hotel called the “Hotel Hello”, but the “o” in Hello on the sign is broken.
A genuine classic, it’s worth a watch
- jaki says:
  
  11:29am | 26/11/12
  
  I do it all the time being vegetarian and all. Although I’ll still be cooking meat for my pets dinner.
  
  Reply
- Meh says:
  
  11:39am | 26/11/12
  
  Roast pumpkin & carrot with pan fried onion, capsicum & mushrooms. Put in a rich Napoli sauce base (extra garlic for me), layered with lasagne sheets, topped with white sauce & extra cheese then baked. Very delicious.
  
  Spinach - Ricotta cannaloni - yum.
  3 cheese fritatta (http://www.donnahay.com.au/recipes/onepot/vegetables/three-cheese-frittata)
  mushroom quiche (great as long as mushies have been pan fried first)
  Salad roll with mayo and sweet mustard pickles, oh yeah baby…..
  
  Would probably have at least 1 day of vego meals a week, but is not something we do intentionally. It is just following our favorite recipes.
  
  Reply
Bec says:

01:08pm | 26/11/12

I’m the same - a lot of my favourite recipes just happen to have no meat in them. In my mind, rice paper rolls or a mexican layered salad is a lot tastier than the standard meat & three veg thing. Boring.
- Gordon says:
  
  11:44am | 26/11/12
  
  While part of me likes that t shirt that goes “vegatables: what food eats”, I think most of this article is common sense. The human animal needs more fruit & veges than our wealthy lifestyle affords us. I don’t buy the save-the-planet angle tho. Aussie range-fed animals are more sustainable on marginal soils than irrigated & fertilsed grain or vege crops. There is a (northern hemisphere) sustainability argument against feedlotting but we don’t do much of that here. I very much hate the pay-extra-for-veges at restraunts: for $30 a plate a sprig of broccoli is not too much to ask for..
  
  Reply
- Bane says:
  
  11:46am | 26/11/12
  
  We consistently have at least 1 meat free day per week. Pre-dominately it would be 2 days per week. And this does not include fish days at least once a weeks. I do it for health reasons and nutritinal balance.
  If I may brag, my body fat % is between 6-9% my BMI is 24 and am a picture of health and fitness.
  
  Reply
- Jeremy says:
  
  11:48am | 26/11/12
  
  It may take a lot of water and feed, upfront, to keep a cow, but in return the cow must eat over 10% of its body weight in grass and grain each day, whilst a meat eater such as a lion only needs 1-2% to remain healthy.
  MFM? Nice gimmick. I don’t really think about whether or not to eat meat in a meal; sometimes you want simple pasta sauces or mushroom risotto, sometimes you want braised pork leg or chicken…
  
  Reply
- Baloo says:
  
  11:48am | 26/11/12
  
  It’s funny, articles and ideas such as this only make me think about how awesome a steak would be right now.
  Nothing wrong with veges but.. steak!
  
  Reply
- Matt says:
  
  11:50am | 26/11/12
  
  Meat free fridays has been going on for centuries. Meat free mondays is hardly a revolutionary idea
  
  Reply
scott says:

12:20pm | 26/11/12

Shhhhh…..Don’t tell the athiests that!
Al says:

02:04pm | 26/11/12

Do you mean the meat free fridays that allow fish?

You do know fish is meat don’t you.
Modern Primitive says:

03:29pm | 26/11/12

Rubbish, I know heaps of vegetarians who still eat fish.
EM says:

03:31pm | 26/11/12

Shhhhhh…. Don’t point out their inconsistencies!
Redeker Plan says:

05:52pm | 26/11/12

@Modern Primitive. “I know heaps of vegetarians who still eat fish”. Those are not vegetarians. They are fish-and-chipocrites. If what you eat had a central nervous system, then you are not a vegetarian.

I enjoy eating small amounts of good quality red meat or chicken a couple of times a week, and my local independent butcher has recently moved to carrying only free-range. It costs a little more but the quality is far superior to the artificially-red grain-fed crap from the supermarket.

That said, I also really enjoy vegetarian and vegan dishes. I have some vegan mates who run a cafe here in Melbourne and over the years eating at their place has opened up a whole world of delicious options. Last night I tried vegan cheesecake for the first time, and it was awesome! So, at least once, but usually twice a week, I cook meat free at home. Lentil lasagne, risottos, 5-bean chilli, vegie tagines, stir-fries, and in winter, oodles of different soups are easy, cheap, filling, nutritious and really, really yum. My partner, a dedicated carnivore, is a very satisfied convert who now prefers my lentil lasagne to the meat-based option, and is now regularly requesting vego favourites when I ask him for dinner suggestions. Anyone who says that it’s not a meal without meat is simply lacking imagination.
Omnivore says:

06:38pm | 26/11/12

Redeker, I believe the correct term for those that eat a vegetarian diet but incorporate fish and other seafood - while eschewing all other animal flesh - is a piscetarian.
- LaDiva says:
  
  12:04pm | 26/11/12
  
  Rosemary Stanton always looks so thin and sickly. I wouldn’t take any dietary advice from her.
  
  Reply
Martin says:

01:07pm | 26/11/12

... or from Gillian “You Are What You Eat” McKeith either ... another scrawny unhealthy-looking ‘nutritionist’.
- Modern Primitive says:
  
  12:24pm | 26/11/12
  
  Meat free? No thanks, but you guys go right ahead.
  
  Reply
ronny jonny says:

04:23pm | 26/11/12

and that is a reasonable response.
- Benny says:
  
  12:29pm | 26/11/12
  
  It honestly blows my mind that given 1) the state of the environment, 2) the prevalence of factory farming, and 3) the health benefits of reducing meat consumption, that there are still so many people getting defensive about have a single day per week meat-free. Yep, we’re all doomed.
  
  Reply
Freemason says:

12:45pm | 26/11/12

Still blows my mind that people think they can tell me how to live my life. How about you all go away and stop policing every damn thing I do.
Benny says:

01:12pm | 26/11/12

I like how you got defensive in response to my accusation that you were being defensive. Top points.
Modern Primitive says:

01:26pm | 26/11/12

The first step to phasing out meat is giving it up one day a week. Soon it’ll be 2, then 4, then 8 days a week!

Resist the righteous vege munchers, fellow meat lovers! They know not what they say, for the have abandoned reat meat and all its essential fats required for brain function…
Tim says:

01:28pm | 26/11/12

I can’t believe people would feel the need to try and control what I eat.

Anyone that disagrees with my post is just proving my point. Hey this is fun, good game Benny.
- Denise Webber says:
  
  12:29pm | 26/11/12
  
  Oh is that what we do called, funnily enough we go meatless at least three times a week because meat is too damned expensive to buy in Tassy, if you don’t have access to a car or a big freezer.
  
  So I’m doing my bit without even realising it.
  
  Reply
- Drskelly says:
  
  12:32pm | 26/11/12
  
  So Rosemary Stanton is giving global, futuristic, macroeconomic advice not nutrition information. Not really her field. If there were no cows to eat, the land would be used to grow corn for ethanol or used as dirt tracks for motorcycles and the only result is there would be less animals for animal lovers! Even if meat caused bowel cancer, that’s just an argument to have regular colonoscopies to detect and then cure it. Vegetables are a bland, evil neolithic invention and shouldn’t be part of a Homo Sapien’s diet. Most successful chefs use chicken stock or bacon fat in vegetable risotto to actually give it taste. Vegetables are just carbs and make you fat and don’t satiate hunger.
  
  Reply
B says:

02:20pm | 26/11/12

Drskelly, you need to do a bit of reading. Not all vegetables are loaded with carbohydrate… very few actually… As for this statement - “If there were no cows to eat, the land would be used to grow corn for ethanol or used as dirt tracks for motorcycles and the only result is there would be less animals for animal lovers!”... I don’t know where to even start with that one.
- Simmon says:
  
  12:35pm | 26/11/12
  
  Frys Family Foundation - glad to see his parents focused on a worhty cause once their son was frozen for 1000 years….
  
  Reply
Paulie Walnuts says:

03:46pm | 26/11/12

Philip J Fry reference. Awesome
Paulie Walnuts says:

03:46pm | 26/11/12

Philip J Fry reference. Awesome
- King Balon Greyjoy says:
  
  12:37pm | 26/11/12
  
  What kind of green-lander girlish person doesn’t eat meat. No true Iron-Islander would stand for such an outrage.
  
  Reply
stephen says:

05:11pm | 26/11/12

No deer on Vanuatu, mate ?
By the way, is turtle a fish, because it’s supposed to taste like chicken ?
- syd says:
  
  12:53pm | 26/11/12
  
  A great book to read is The China Study if you’re looking for more information on why it’s good to cut down ... you will be amazed, the research is all there. Other good books are Engine 2, The Kind Diet, etc. Worth reading up ... good for your health and good for the environment.
  
  Reply
Skippy's Enemy says:

02:14pm | 26/11/12

Thanks for the reads Syd. I am always interested in health and also the planets health (NO I AM NOT A GREENIE)
We try and have at least half of our meals each week meat free and we are fortunate in Australia to have such an abundance of great fresh food.
We eat more Kanga than beef, tastes like good lean beef fillet if cooked properly and even though I am not a Kanagroo I think a bullet would be kinder than an abatoir?
ronny jonny says:

04:37pm | 26/11/12

Skippys, have a look at the Omnivores Dilemma, explains ethical meat eating very succinctly
- Bec says:
  
  01:03pm | 26/11/12
  
  I find the red-meat obsessed culture here a bit weird. I have high cholesterol so I try to avoid it, but a lot of people wonder (loudly and rudely) what the hell is wrong with me and why I don’t eat steak very often. I’ve even had people try to convince me that garlic bread and ice cream are both nutritious foods - is it any wonder our loved ones are living with heart disease and diabetes? It seems in Australia there is a bit of a warped perception about what is healthy - apparently vegetables are only for hippies.
  
  Reply
Modern Primitive says:

01:22pm | 26/11/12

Not at all, one of the staples at our place is meat and two vegg. Sometimes even 3 or 4 veg if we’re doing a roast or a bbq.
- King Robert Baratheon says:
  
  01:05pm | 26/11/12
  
  You’ll do as I command and bend the knee and eat your seaweed.
  
  Reply
- Tubesteak says:
  
  01:08pm | 26/11/12
  
  Plants are what my food eats
  
  Considering there are 7 billion people on this planet I doubt much can be done to save the environment. I say carry on and enjoy things. No point trying to save the Titannic from sinking by holding onto one of the handrails.
  
  But if that makes you feel better then go right ahead
  
  Reply
Black Dynamite says:

01:49pm | 26/11/12

Agreed, I’m going try and help of beef farmers out by having two steaks tonight who’s with me?

Black Dyanmite
- Nina says:
  
  01:25pm | 26/11/12
  
  I’m Vegan, so this isn’t really an issue for me. Check out the doco “Forks over Knives” - it may help.
  
  Reply
Richard says:

02:25pm | 26/11/12

I’m paleo, we are mortal enemies apparently.
(btw, I’ll definitely be eating meat tonight, just like I’ve already eaten it twice today already)
syd says:

02:33pm | 26/11/12

Agree with Nina ... watch, read, open your minds and discover some amazing food that’s a whole lot better than meat and three veg.
Admiral Ackbar says:

03:19pm | 26/11/12

So we should open our minds by cutting something out of our diet, and restricting our options…. right.

Tonight I’ll be having some kind of chicken dish, washed down with vego tears.
- Modern Primitive says:
  
  01:33pm | 26/11/12
  
  The pope should let Catholics practice contraception, that’d go a hell of a longer way towards being environmentally sustainable humans than foregoing meat one day a week.
  
  Tonight, I shall eat 3 different kinds of meat and only one vegetable.
  
  Reply
- PJ says:
  
  01:41pm | 26/11/12
  
  Well I don’t eat human flesh, so I guess I’m a vegetarian.
  
  Reply
- Stormy Weather says:
  
  01:47pm | 26/11/12
  
  I fail to see what’s extremist about vegetarianism?
  Anyway, won’t be eating meat on Monday through to Sunday because I don’t eat my friends.
  Have just discovered the local Indian grocery stores for plenty of vego options.
  
  Reply
sami says:

02:22pm | 26/11/12

It’s like people are terrified of lentils and chickpeas and broccoli. Weird.

I find it funny how people like to pick on vegetarians, but as soon as there’s a vegetarian pizza or vegetarian samosas next to their meat foods they’re all over it. Bastards. Anyway.

Asian supermarkets are ace for vego food too. ‘Fake chicken’ may seem redundant but is actually really yummy. Steamed mushroom buns, frozen soybeans, chinese vegies, tofu… they have everything
Tim says:

02:39pm | 26/11/12

Lol,
you say there’s nothing extreme about vegetarianism and then equate eating meat with eating your “friends”.
No, there’s nothing extreme about that at all.
Modern Primitive says:

02:50pm | 26/11/12

No wonder, you probably don’t have any fat left on your synapses.
Modern Primitive says:

03:07pm | 26/11/12

I’ve always thought veganism/vegetarianism stems from either the emotional inability to come to terms with the fact that we have to kill the fluffy farm animals in order for us to eat, or that its a somewhat socially accepted way to indulge a pious streak without embracing religion.

It would seem that stormy weather has confirmed the former.
sami says:

05:50pm | 26/11/12

@Tim- some of us love animals, why is that a bad thing? We can survive perfectly well without eating dead animals so why look down on those of us who consider the lives of all animals equal? Why do (most) people think it’s okay to eat a cow but not a horse? A lamb but not a puppy? Animals are animals are animals. Even humans are animals. What’s the difference?

I think shoving any animal into a tiny cage for a few months to then kill it and eat is is unneccessary when I am perfectly happy to eat other things instead. Factory farming is pretty extreme. I wouldn’t call eating a salad extreme but hey, maybe I’m just that wild and crazy that it seems normal to me now

@Modern Primitive - you’re right, I love animals and a pile of baby chickens doesn’t need to be crushed just so I can eat. A fluffy farm animal, as far as I’m concerned, is entitled to a nice life just like the rest of us.
So I have compassion for animals. How’s that a bad thing?
Tim says:

06:43pm | 26/11/12

Sami,
It’s impossible to be friends with animals, they aren’t human. Pets can be companion animals but they aren’t “friends”.

The thing with vegetarians are that a lot of them simply anthropomorphise animals.

It’s also the answer to your question of why some people will eat cows but not dogs or horses.

Why do you think that animal life is somehow more important than plant life?
Humans are omnivores, we’re designed to eat meat. Not doing so is extreme.
- Modern Primitive says:
  
  01:50pm | 26/11/12
  
  Can we eat ethically raised vegetarians?
  
  Reply
Ben C says:

02:23pm | 26/11/12

Why? You’ll only be making martyrs of them.
ramases says:

02:55pm | 26/11/12

I find that they are best cooked over an open fire with slight cuts to the skin and oil and salt added to make the crackling just right. Do away with the feet and hands and keep the head to make a lovely soup. Once cooked, leave over the fire to keep warm and serve with a plate of roasted potatoes, pumpkin, beans and a nice apple sauce. A gravy can be added and the best is made from boiled down hands and feet and some Gravox added to thicken. Being a white meat I suggest and nice Chardonnay, slightly chilled and for dessert a nice slice of Pavlova and ice cream on the side.Enjoy
- sami says:
  
  02:12pm | 26/11/12
  
  Already vegetarian, so no issue with meat-free mondays here
  
  Reply
- LC says:
  
  02:12pm | 26/11/12
  
  And vegans/vegetarians wonder why they aren’t treated with any repsect.
  
  Here’s a hint: Start respecting people’s right to eat what they want. Us lowly meat eaters aren’t forcing you into lettuce-free Tuesdays, are we? And accept that some people who you’ll never be able (legally) make eat you bland vegetarian meals, and that’s the price you pay for living in a society that calls itself free.
  
  Farming practices all round aren’t the best for the environment: Huge tracts of land must be cleared, and it usually has rainforests on it. Huge amounts of poisonous chemicals are needed and end up in the eco-system. The list goes on and on and on. The problems with agriculture can be addressed through more sustainable farming practices in the future.
  
  Reply
- Kay says:
  
  02:20pm | 26/11/12
  
  who can afford meat every day anyway, certainly not the pensioners and those on the average wage.
  
  Reply
- B says:
  
  02:24pm | 26/11/12
  
  This isn’t an article about being a vegetarian/vegan vs a carnivore/omnivore. It is about trying to live a sustainable existence - with a bit of common sense thrown in. Too much of anything isn’t good… and believe me, I love my beef.
  
  Reply
- Robert S McCormick says:
  
  02:34pm | 26/11/12
  
  “Everything in Moderation”
  Do you really need that 500gm-1kg Steak every Lunch-time & every night when you get home?
  No of course not! Maybe if you were doing really hard manual labour you could do with that for either Lunch, Dinner or “Tea”. But you certainly don’t need it twice a day.
  If in a sedentary job, you know the type where the heaviest thing you might lift all day is that Latte with 5 sleeves of sugar, you don’t need that sort of food once or twice a day or even once a week!
  I read somewhere that the biggest piece of Red meat you should eat at any one time is no bigger, nor thicker, than the palm of your hand & that hand’s thickness.
  Think of it! With the exception of those obscene 500-1000 gms steaks most are no more than 2 cms thick.
  You don’t have to be a Vegetarian Nazi - ethically raised or not!
  No-one knows for sure but at least for the past 4 or 5 millenia human’s have been meat eaters not vegetation eaters!
  Today the science tells us to eat both but in moderation.
  But…there is nothing like a nice, rare steak with lots of veges & gravy!!!
  
  Reply
- Richard says:
  
  02:38pm | 26/11/12
  
  The most recent ancestors to homo sapiens sapiens (modern humans) are homo neanderthalensis (Neanderthals) and homo sapiens (Cro-Magnon Man). According to every recent archaeological source, the two hominids had extremely similar diets, and both were about as close to pure carnivores as any primate has ever been.
  
  To turn this evolutionary legacy completely on its head out of some sort of Maltusian dooms-day hysteria, or even worse, sanctimoniously misguided ethical nonsense, is vandalism of the highest order.
  
  We must eat meat every single day, indeed it should be forming the majority of our dietary intake. Grains and legumes are a poor substitute are actually the primary causation of many if not most of the modern diseases that afflict civilised man.
  
  Let us abandon this bien pensant nonsense and embrace our inner carnivores. You only live once, so you may as well try to maximise your life and live healthily (which implies following the paleo diet our bodies evolved to operate best on), the world’s not going to end from people eating meat, and any assertion to the contrary is hysterical nonsense from the smug and sanctimonious chattering classes.
  
  Reply
- Peta says:
  
  02:44pm | 26/11/12
  
  Catholics eat fish on Fridays already and have meat free days over Easter.
  
  Reply
subotic says:

03:59pm | 26/11/12

Yep, see, another good reason to eat meat if I ever done heard one….
- Meat Eater says:
  
  03:20pm | 26/11/12
  
  I knew an irritating vegan once who use to eat lots of Coles brand doughnuts. I read him the ingredients once. That changed his mind! LOL
  
  Reply
- andrew says:
  
  03:30pm | 26/11/12
  
  If I have a meat free day it’s almost certainly because I have felt too lazy to cook anything and breakfast, lunch and dinner have probably consisted of a combination of cereal, chocolate, ice cream and booze (not necessarily in that order).
  
  Reply
- TheRealDave says:
  
  03:38pm | 26/11/12
  
  Meat Free…for an entire day?!?!?
  
  *faints*
  
  Reply
- David V. says:
  
  03:40pm | 26/11/12
  
  Chinese people should thank foreigners who visit China that they spend their money and risk their lives eating dangerous food products there.
  
  Reply
- SAm says:
  
  03:44pm | 26/11/12
  
  well we usually only have meat maybe 3-4 times a week anyways as its bloody expensive! vegetarian meals are easy enough but being a fulltime vegetarian is stupid, unhealthy and not fun
  
  Reply
- Anne says:
  
  03:54pm | 26/11/12
  
  Richard, while we’re reliving the diet of our homo sapien ancient ancestors, perhaps we should cannibalize also or let’s relive the dark ages where we burned disabled folk at the stake for being possessed by the devil?
  
  Go back to the thinking the earth is still flat possibly?
  
  We’re supposedly a progressive intelligent society now Richard, time to begin behaving & consuming nutrients as such..
  
  Reply
Modern Primitive says:

04:15pm | 26/11/12

I agree, let’s abandon the starvation cult that is vegetarianism/veganism and go back to eating balanced diets. Those with a puritanical streak that needs sating can take up religion like everyone else.
- ronny jonny says:
  
  04:07pm | 26/11/12
  
  It is interesting how uncomfortable and aggressive people become when confronted with the shocking sight of a plate of food with no meat on it. I’ve had it all, “on a health kick? Are you a hippy wanker? weirdo, no meat?” Why does it matter? I’ve never told anyone they shouldn’t eat meat but the second I sit down with a plate of rice and veggies, they act like I am furiously lecturing them just by sitting there. Relax, no one is judging you.
  
  Reply
- Rob says:
  
  06:41pm | 26/11/12
  
  Who declared a No meat Monday?
  I will continue to eat what I want when I want.
  Although I think it would be more popular if I declared a No Offal 24/.period.
  
  Reply

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Would you go meat free for Monday?

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