Americans eat an average of 222 pounds of meat each year. Though we only rank 17th in world per capita consumption (Denmark ranks #1, followed by the Czech Republic and Spain), that’s still a lot of meat– roughly 73 billion pounds per year, the equivalent of 146 million heifers or 18 billion chickens.
We eat more chicken than anything else (87 lbs.), followed by beef (66 lbs.) and pork (51 lbs.). Our per-capita consumption has risen over 50% since 1950, and continues upward.
Most Americans live in denial about where their meat comes from. It comes from animals– and the vast majority comes from Confined Area Feeding Operations (CAFOs), where they’re kept too close together and fed food they have no business eating.
The cow in the photo at top didn’t come from a CAFO– it was raised locally, in a pasture. It weighed 1,700 pounds on the hoof, and was slaughtered by a local butcher in someone’s backyard. It was raised humanely, ate naturally-occuring grass, and got plenty of sunlight. It never had to travel in a trailer or railcar packed with hundreds of other terrified animals on a trip to the slaughterhouse. And its environmental impact was far smaller than a cow raised in a CAFO because its manure composted natually rather than being slurried and turning to methane. It required little outside food, and no grain, so it made no contribution to topsoil erosion.
I don’t eat beef, but based on my experience with other locally-grown meat, this one will taste better than anything you buy at the store.
We are responsible for what we put in our mouths. If this disturbs you, perhaps you’ll seek out a local farmer and buy your meat directly from him or her. Know your food. Know its source, and how it was raised. If you can, meet it before you eat it. I’ve found this gives me more appreciation for the animals I eat– I eat less of it– and I’ve developed a greater appreciation for life in general.
It’s unavoidable: if you eat meat, you’re killing animals. And if you buy it at the store, you’re supporting the CAFO system– and getting inferior quality as well.
If you’re not comfortable knowing where your meat comes from, or if the photo of a slaughtered cow disturbs you, Vegetarian Times is available online for free.
