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)
Author: Daniella Cheslow
Daniella Cheslow grew up in a car-dependent suburb in New Jersey, where she noticed strip malls and Wal-Marts slowly replacing farmland. Her introduction to nature came through hiking trips in Israel. As a counselor for a freshman backpacking program at Northwestern University, Daniella noticed that Americans outdoors seemed to need to arm themselves with performance clothing, specialized water bottles and sophisticated camping silverware. This made her think about how to interact with and enjoy nature simply. This year, Daniella is getting a Master’s in Geography from Ben Gurion University of the Negev. She also freelance writes, photographs and podcasts. In her free time, she takes day trips in the desert, drops off compost and cooks local foods like stuffed zucchini, kubbeh and majadara. Daniella gets her peak oil anxiety from James Howard Kunstler and her organic food dreams from Michael Pollan. Read more at her blog, TheTruthHerzl.com. Daniella can be reached at daniella (at) greenprophet (dot) com.
Becoming vegetarian is the best thing I have ever done in my life and I am going to stick to it till the day I die, because it’s such a good choice to make in life. The world is better for it, the animals are better for it and so am I!.. I wish people who eat meat would cut down on the amount of meat they eat and who knows you may become a converted vegetarian woohoo!
Why does no-one ever have the balls to admit they’re wrong? Taking aside the moral issue, the facts about health benefits and longevity, you have admitted you cannot lecture people on green living if you eat meat. When you question the challenge of a diet where nothing had to die for your taste answer this: have you ever loved someone and they’ve died? Did it matter how old they were, or how happy they were when they died, or if they were in pain?
I used to be a part time vegeterian but now I’m a full time vegeterian (and that includes no fish and no eggs) if you are aware your contributing to killing innocent animals then becoming vegeterian (or even part time) is a good idea.
I recently discovered the label “Part Time Vegetarian” and find it useful and empowering as a sort of half step to a healthier diet. Eating healthier is a process that is easy to start and and with just a little effort every week can be very rewarding. Find out more at:
http://www.squidoo.com/Parttimevegetarian