NYTimes Blog: Be a Part-Time Vegetarian

You heard about being a vegawarian here, which in case you forgot, means “you are ‘aware’ that eating animals contributes more towards global warming than eating plants. So, maybe, sometimes, you will choose the vegetarian option instead of the meat option.”

The New York Times’ Freakonomics blog has just published another scheme for cutting down meat without cutting it out, “vegetarianism as a sometimes thing.” Writer Ian Ayres posted a reader letter suggesting that a group of friends get together and agree to always have one vegetarian eater among them. In other words, collective vegetarians:

“Say a group of 7 people signed a contract saying that each of them would go meatless on an assigned day each week. Thus, within the group each member could eat meat 6 days a week, but there would be one vegetarian at all times…. And of course 7 is an arbitrary number – more ambitious folks could form a team of 2 or 3.”

Ayres and his wife committed to meatless Wednesdays, and he went so far as to put money on the table in the event he is caught breaking his promise – he offered to donate $150 to charity and $100 more to the person who catches him.

Like vegawarianism, collective vegetarianism offers a compromise solution between cutting out meat entirely and continuing business as usual. While die-hard vegetarians may be disappointed, it offers an accessible way for greater numbers of people to eat a more carbon-friendly diet.

(Image from netfoodie.com)