I Quit Red Meat for a Month
We've discussed in depth about how red meat is bad for the environment. After all of that reading, I decided that I would stop eating red meat at home. I'm a dependent, so I needed the consent of my parents, and they said that they would support me. I began this challenge around the time when I drafted The Miracle Meat for the Environment, a post about why fish is an ethical alternative to red meat.
July 16 was the day I declared I would quit eating red meat at home, and I didn't eat meat until August 21, when I had a filet mignon at a restaurant for my cousin's birthday. In this post, I will tell you how I felt along the way and my cravings, and what I'm doing now.
Health
To be honest, I felt perfectly fine. I didn't feel weak. I didn't feel lethargic (not more than usual anyway). And while I didn't weigh myself before and after, I'm sure I continued to grow at the same pace as I was before I quit red meat. Substituting red meat with fish probably helped me to stay healthy nutritionally. To summarize how the effect this had on my body, I didn't feel any different from how I felt on July 15.
Cravings
Rarely did I crave red meat. I can think of two or three times when I kind of wanted some, but I wasn't at the point of walking to Wendy's and ordering a burger. I was surprised that this challenge was so easy for me, and I felt confident that I could quit eating red meat forever if I wanted to, and I wouldn't miss much.
Am I eating red meat now?
When I began this challenge, I proclaimed that I would only eat red meat on special occasions. I finally had steak on a special occasion, and I will continue not to eat red meat at home. I haven't decided what I'll do when I go back to school because my school has a pretty good Philly cheesesteak.
What you can do
I'm not one of those people who preaches veganism, but I do believe that people should be aware of the environmental impacts of their diets. If there is something that you eat a lot that requires a lot of water or greenhouse gases to manufacture, maybe you could substitute it for an eco-friendly alternative. We've done reviews of many sustainable food options (see the links below), and I think switching to them may not be as challenging as you think.
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