The Beginning

In the beginning, there was nothing. I was your typical American meat eater. In fact, I was probably worse. My mother, the best cook in the world (now retired, possibly out of laziness, but more probably a symptom of an empty nest), used to cook us at least two meats per dinner. And we ate family style (so I ate more than my portion). In my house meat, whether pork or seafood, was never a scarcity. But thankfully, neither were fruits and vegetables.

In high school, I got my driver's license which quickly became a vehicle for junk food. I'd often trick myself into going to McDonald's under the guise of studying. I also loved deals. For instance, this is a direct quote from my personal journal in 2002: "TODAY I WENT TO KFC AND HAD 3 PIECES OF CHICKEN, 2 CHICKEN STRIPES, 3 SIDES, 1 APPLESAUCE, FRUIT ROLL UP AND 1 STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE FOR THE ALL TIME LOW OF $3.64. YAY TO COUPONS, DEALS AND REAL FOOD! WUT A GREAT DAY!" I thought that was "real" food? Sad. Even varsity sports and a black belt couldn't keep me from gaining 10 lbs. But my grandmother put me on a strict diet and we gained control again.

In college, when I started cooking for myself, I kept the two meat theme. Having a steak? Why not pair it with a sausage too? If there weren't two meats, then there was one huge huge hunk of meat. My burgers were 1/2 pound plus monsters. Unsurprisingly, I put on 20 lbs again. Note though, that I was starting to cook a lot, albeit usually assisted by Costco.

In law school, I moved in with my uncle, who is a fitness king and, more ominously, could directly report to my mom. I still kept up some of my old ways like buying bulk from Costco (Dino Buddies!). But I was starting to learn that cooking from scratch was a lot cheaper. Dino Buddies were around $7.99 from Costco (with coupon). They were two pounds of already cooked (and breaded, and fried) chicken. But chicken thighs at Costco were $.99/lb so Dino Buddies were 4x as much per pound. How is this a deal?

Then, one fatal day in mid-february 2008, I read a report from the UN about how cattle-rearing generates more global warming greenhouse gases, as measured in CO2 equivalent, than transportation. I had already become a public transit/carpool/cycling nerd, an anal recycler/composter/reuser, and an abhorrer of waste, but this time, it was too much to ignore the carbon footprint my meat consumption was wreaking. So, I cut meat out of one of the meals I ate a day. Most of my friends laughed in response. But this was a true beginning, I started looking at meat differently. It no longer had to center my plate, nor did I need two versions of it. It quickly became limiting red meat consumption to once a month, as cows are the worst eco-offender.

And now, we are at the present. After less than a year of my omit-meat-one-day-a-week challenge I am ready to be an Ecotarian- with every purchase I make, I'll seriously scrutinize it's environmental impact and labor concerns. As such, I pledge to only buy sustainable meat. I pledge to take public transit/carpool/bike. I pledge to eliminate waste from my life (Americans throw away 1.3 pounds of food every day, or 474.5 pounds per year). More on what this really means to follow.

p.s. Picture is of a 8 lb cross-rib roast (for $12) that I made.