Eat Less Meat
Go vegetable heavy. Reverse the psychology of your plate by making meat the side dish and vegetables the main course - Bobby Flay
image by: Greenpeace International
HWN Recommends
Want to Reduce World Hunger? Eat Less Meat (Especially Beef)
According to Action Against Hunger, “After steadily declining for a decade, world hunger is on the rise, affecting 8.9 percent of people globally. From 2018 to 2019, the number of undernourished people grew by 10 million, and there are nearly 60 million more undernourished people now than in 2014.”
Many of the drivers of this increase are unconnected (at least directly) to any of your daily actions. Warfare, for example, displaces populations, which disrupts food cultivation and distribution in the affected areas.
But if you eat red meat—particularly red meat—you are directly supporting a practice that limits how much food is produced in the world and how accessible it is to…
Resources
What Explains Our Mania for Mushrooms?
The fungus among us may be the future of food, thanks to rich umami flavors that make it a popular substitute for meat. Humans have been gathering various wild fungi since ancient times, but never before have mushrooms been such big business.
The diet that helps fight climate change
Do we all have to go vegan to save the world?
The Meat-Lover’s Guide to Eating Less Meat
Reducing your meat and dairy intake can help mitigate climate change. Melissa Clark has ideas for how to do it deliciously.
This Is What Happens to Your Body When You Give Up Meat
Given how important meat has been to the human story, and how vegetarianism and veganism has done a takeover of your Instagram feed, you might wonder what happens to the human body if you walk away from it completely. Well, wonder no more.
What to Eat More Of If You’re Eating Less Meat
If you are trying to eat less meat, you have plenty of company. Our cultural tide is flowing steadily in that direction. Just look around–there are multiple bestselling books touting the benefits of plant based eating; the Meatless Monday campaign has become mainstream, with awareness and participation climbing rapidly over the past decade; and the word “flexitarian” is now in the Merriam-Webster dictionary ( meaning “one whose normally meatless diet occasionally includes meat or fish.”).
What’s your beef? An ethicist’s guide to giving up meat
The case for giving up meat should be easy to win. Eating meat is clearly inconsiderate to animals: slaughtering billions of sentient beings each year seems gratuitously cruel when our nutritional needs can easily be met in other ways. It’s demonstrably unfair to our fellow humans and the environment, too. Meat-eating – especially consuming beef, which is the most wasteful and environmentally damaging kind – is responsible for most of the carbon emissions the food industry produces. Yet those who eat meat are largely unmoved by the arguments against it.
You'll Probably Live Longer if You Stop Eating Meat
"The evidence is consistent that increased intake of red meat, especially processed red meat, is associated with increased all-cause mortality.”
Eat less meat: UN climate-change report calls for change to human diet
The report on global land use and agriculture comes amid accelerating deforestation in the Amazon.
Eat Less Red Meat, Scientists Said. Now Some Believe That Was Bad Advice
The evidence is too weak to justify telling individuals to eat less beef and pork, according to new research. The findings “erode public trust,” critics said.
What to Know Before Resolving to Eat Less Meat
As popular campaigns like ‘Veganuary’ fuel New Year’s pledges to cut back on meat, nutrition studies show conflicting findings about the health benefits.
1,800 Gallons of Water Goes Into One Pound of Meat
Cut down on your water footprint without starving yourself at dinnertime.
Americans should eat less meat, but they’re eating more and more
The campaign to persuade us to cut back on burgers and bacon has been a bust so far.
Avoiding red or processed meat doesn't seem to give health benefits
There are no health reasons to cut down on eating red or processed meat, according to a new review of the evidence. The claims, which contradict most existing dietary advice, come from a review of existing studies led by the Spanish and Polish Cochrane Centers, part of a global collaboration for assessing medical research. Numerous health bodies have said for decades that we should limit our intake of red meat because it is high in saturated fat, thought to raise cholesterol levels and cause heart attacks. More recently, both red and processed meat have been linked with cancer. In the latest review, though, the authors came to a different conclusion because they considered separately the two main kinds of research.
Debunking What the Health, the buzzy new documentary that wants you to be vegan
The film on Netflix mischaracterizes what we know about food and disease.
In The War On Meat, Count Me In The Resistance
With respect to health, it is true that overconsumption of meat can be harmful to one’s health. But that’s true of all foods — whether it be kale, tofu, or bacon.
New Diet Guidelines to Benefit People and the Planet: More Greens for All, Less Meat for Some
The report suggests a dramatic reduction in red meat consumption for people who eat a lot of it, like Americans and Canadians, but not the world’s poor, who need more animal protein for better health — like children in South Asia.
Red Meat Is Not the Enemy
There are people in this country eating too much red meat. They should cut back. There are people eating too many carbs. They should cut back on those. There are also people eating too much fat, and the same advice applies to them, too. What’s getting harder to justify, though, is a focus on any one nutrient as a culprit for everyone.
The secret to curbing meat consumption? The answer is shockingly simple
A new study finds that increasing the proportion of vegetarian dishes in university cafeterias reduces meat consumption.
These Are The Reasons You Might Quit Meat...
When one of the biggest meat companies in the world says the future is plants, it’s time to sit up and take notice. U.S. company Tyson Foods has been churning out processed meat and chickens for more than 80 years. But speaking earlier this year, CEO Tom Hayes said growth in plant-based protein could well outpace animal-based products before long. He’s put his money where his mouth is, recently boosting the company’s financial stake in the California-based startup Beyond Meat, which touts a former McDonald’s CEO among its investors.
What Would Happen If an Entire Nation Stopped Eating Meat?
We asked leading experts what the landscape and people of Britain would look like if they became vegetarian en masse.
Want to Reduce World Hunger? Eat Less Meat (Especially Beef)
America is one of the world leaders in per capita meat consumption—which means we’re also one of the most inefficient users of land and other resources when it comes to feeding people.
8 Small, Practical Ways to Eat Less Meat
The transition can be less jarring than you think.
Meatless Monday
We have delicious plant-based recipes and guides to help you implement Meatless Monday in your school, hospital, workplace, and community.
The Meatrix
When The Meatrix launched in November 2003, the viral film broke new ground in online grassroots advocacy, creating a unique vehicle by which to educate, entertain and motivate people to create change. The Meatrix movies, now a series, have been translated into more than 30 languages and are one of the most successful online advocacy campaigns ever — with well over 15 million viewers worldwide.
Introducing Stitches!
Your Path to Meaningful Connections in the World of Health and Medicine
Connect, Collaborate, and Engage!
Coming Soon - Stitches, the innovative chat app from the creators of HWN. Join meaningful conversations on health and medical topics. Share text, images, and videos seamlessly. Connect directly within HWN's topic pages and articles.