Comments on: Vegetarian is the New Prius

By: Meat and Climate Change : Bifurcated Carrots

Meat and Climate Change : Bifurcated Carrots — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 14:08:03 +0000

[...] I’ve written about this before, as have many other people. This is something Michael Pollan has brought up in his books and articles. Now it’s offical. [...]

By: Ash

Ash — Wed, 16 May 2007 08:58:56 +0000

I am not vegetarian, but I try very hard to limit the amount of meat we eat, and to vary it. No mono-culture meat eating here!

If you really want to cut down on the quantity of meat you consume, just try buying organic/biodynamic.

It works immediately – the cost makes you think twice about serving portions that are bigger than necessary and the product is humanely raised.

Although, that said … whether or not the extra food miles make it worth buying organically is another story. I have a butcher nearby who charges almost as much as organic meat, claims his meat is free of hormone/antibiotics and buys only from one farm. He’s my first choice.

By: Rebsie Fairholm

Rebsie Fairholm — Sat, 10 Mar 2007 12:06:45 +0000

I must admit my reason for going vegetarian 16 years ago was that I’m soppy about animals, but this is another very valid reason.

Ottawa Gardener’s comment gave me a good laugh out loud. I do take it as a positive sign when I find caterpillars in broccoli heads (if it’s good enough for the caterpillar it’s good enough for me) but nope … I draw the line right there.

By: Misshathorn

Misshathorn — Fri, 09 Mar 2007 23:56:45 +0000

The Ottawa Gardener might be interested in this from Fukuoka’s ‘One Straw Revolution’ –
“Among wild foods insects are often overlooked. During the war, when I worked at the research center, I was assigned to determine what insects in Southeast Asia could be eaten. When I investigated this matter, I was amazed to discover that almost any insect is edible. For example, no one would think that lice or fleas could be of any use at all, but lice, ground up and eaten with winter grain, are a remedy for epilepsy, and fleas are a medicine for frostbite. All insect larvae are quite edible, but they must be alive. Poring over the old texts, I found stories having to do with “delicacies” prepared from maggots from the outhouse, and the flavour of the familiar silkworm was said to be exquisite beyond compare. Even moths, if you shake the powder off their wings first, are very tasty. So, whether from the standpoint of flavour or from the standpoint of health, many things which people consider repulsive arc actually quite tasty and also good for the human body.”
I’ve only consumed caterpillars by accident when I wasn’t wearing my glasses while preparing dinner, but Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall has featured supper dishes with wood lice and other such garden delights. Go ahead and try it, some night when you’re doing dinner for one.

By: Patrick

Patrick — Tue, 06 Mar 2007 11:05:38 +0000

Maybe it’s just me, but I’ve never been too tempted by the cabbage moth larvae in the broccoli heads…

I love beans! Also similar legumes like dried peas, lentils and mung beans. These all have the same advantages you mention. Very versatile crops.

By: Ottawa Gardnener

Ottawa Gardnener — Mon, 05 Mar 2007 21:50:16 +0000

I always thought we should just eat more bugs for the protein. Given my cultural background this is not easy for me to get my head around but why not eat those cabbage moth larvea with the broccoli heads? (I haven’t checked if there is a good reason not to by the way.) Back to the beans, limited space, fertilize needed, good fresh or dried, store well, in-breeding, good protein source, what more could you ask in a vegetable? Ah beans.