As most of our frequent readers know, I rarely ask members of this community for favors. Of course, I encourage everyone to adopt the Old Money way of life, prioritizing health, education, financial independence, modest/low-key living, etc.
Thus far, I have chosen not to run ads on this site. It strikes me as a little contradictory, as I encourage less consumerism and advocate for readers to focus on their quality of life. I have also avoided having ‘guest posts’ whereby a third party would write a post–with a link to their site, product, or service–that might be of interest to readers here. They’d pay me for the privilege, of course, but, again, this blog is what it is: a community, not a profit platform.
All this may change, but I don’t see that happening at any point in the near future.
It’s wonderful that the books are selling. It’s even better that people feel like they’re benefiting from the content. The highest compliment is when I learn that someone has handed a copy down to the next generation.
So I don’t have to promote the books too much beyond making readers aware of them from time to time. I don’t have to referee too much, either, because the content and comments here tend to ‘keep it between the lines’ when it comes to how and about what we disagree. I’m grateful for that.
But now, the proverbial other shoe will drop. I’m asking for a favor. Not for myself, but for the greater good, the next generation, the planet.
I wanted to ask if you’d consider not eating meat (beef, pork, chicken, fish) for 2 days a week in 2022.
The reasons are obvious, if not at the forefront of most of our minds. First, there are the environmental toll that producing animal products has on the earth. The amount of land, water, feed, chemicals, and fuel required to take an animal from the farm to your dinner plate is certainly astronomical and in all likelihood unsustainable.
You can find statistics elsewhere, but you’ll be wise to recognize the reality everywhere: the planet can’t support the continued raising, processing, and transporting of animal products on a mass scale. It’s as simple as that, and anyone who disagrees is misinformed, in denial, or promoting an agenda (usually as a paid influencer or lobbyist for the meat industry.)
So let’s just nip that in the bud and not go down that road, to mix metaphors. I’m very tolerant of differing opinions on most topics, just not on this one. It’s math and science: the number of people on the planet, the number of animals on the planet, the acres of land we have to live on, and the impact our choices have on our environment.
To be clear, I’m not asking anyone to wear penny loafers made of hemp. I like my cotton shirts and leather shoes as much as the next person. The manufacturing of these products has an environmental impact.
What I am saying is that we may buy a shirt or a pair of shoes once every 6 months. We eat 3 times a day. So our dietary choices have more of a global impact than almost anything we do, especially in the age of factory farming. We can’t all ditch our cars for bicycles, but we can all decide what we eat.
If we all said, ‘On weekdays, I’m going to eat what I want. But on weekends, I’m going just eat vegetarian options of Chinese food, Mexican food, Italian food, Thai food, or Indian food, or I’ll just cook up a huge pot of beans and eat them with rice and vegetables. Or I’m going to check out some of the faux turkey patties or tofu products in the grocery store. Anything but eat animals. Just on the weekends.’
Or we could opt to ‘veg out’ just on Monday and Tuesday, starting the week by giving the planet a break, then eat whatever the rest of the week and the weekend.
It’s not difficult. It just takes a little thought. A little consideration. A small amount of discipline. And it will have a big impact. Not just on our planet, but on our health as well.
The hormones and other chemicals that are used to mass produce meat, pork, poultry, and fish products are digested by us when we eat them. We also expose ourselves to diseases (feel free to do an online search and locate your own statistics.)
It’s difficult to accept sometimes that the food our grandparents and parents ate is not the same food we are eating. It may not be as fresh. It may not be as clean. It may not be as safe. We may have to eat differently if we want to remain healthy.
So I’m going to leave it at that, framing my request with logic and moderation. Please go ‘2 in 2022’…2 days a week meat-free this year.
Thank you.
- BGT