Читать книгу Zero Waste Cooking For Dummies - Rosanne Rust - Страница 46

You may have heard about “Meatless Monday.” To the uninformed bystander, this movement sounds like a great way to encourage people to add more vegetables and whole grains to their diet while cutting back on meat consumption. However, saving the planet isn’t that easy, and neither is healthy eating. In addition, it turns out that the Meatless Monday movement is backed by environmental activists whose goal is to encourage more people to omit animal products from their lifestyle. Around that time, the term factory farm was used to describe conventional animal agriculture systems. In fact, farms in the U.S. are family-owned, and while there are larger and smaller ones, they aren’t “factories.” Just like farmers, ranchers are using sustainable practices to maintain their herds and manage the health of their land.

What you choose to eat is your personal choice. There are many ways to plan out meals that sustain your body and health. In addition, there are social and cultural factors that influence your choices. However, simply omitting all animal products isn’t a magic bullet to the complex environmental and social issues we face as a nation. In regard to farming and ranching methods, there’s room for both conventional and organic practices. Farmers and ranchers are continually working to improve as they determine what best suits their land and local ecosystem.

With proper management and strategies for storing carbon, some theorize that a balanced use of land for livestock and crops going forward can work and is the most energy-efficient way to produce food.