Eating Meat— My diet has changed but my core values have not.

There are very real concerns with eating too much meat, including the ethical treatment of animals and their impact on the environment, as well as our own health. 

So what should we eat to stay healthy AND take care of the planet?

In the past, I have been vegetarian and vegan and one of the main reasons I did so was for the health of my family and the planet.

CORE VALUES

I’m a health conscious, earth-conscious person and a big part of this is the way we eat as a family. Ten years ago I had never heard of grass fed beef or organic chickens and assumed they all came from large factories where they were mistreated and pumped with crap. This is what fuelled my decision to stop eating meat altogether. I was just trying to make the best choice based on my values. 

I switched over to eating a lot of soy, grains, and yes vegetables:) I still shopped at farmers markets and had a local veggie delivery but wasn’t overly aware of where the rest of my food came from. 

Fast forwards to now. After 7 years of mostly veganism, I have shifted back into eating small amounts of meat. I did it out of a desire to have more energy, properly-balanced hormones and nutrient levels. So I made the conscious choice to include animal protein back into my diet. This shift was hard at first as I wanted to stay aligned with my values which are:

• Eat clean whole foods
• Eat local whenever possible
• Eat for energy, digestion and vitality
• Eat in a way that’s best for the Earth.

So to stay true to my values and honour what my body was telling me, I discovered a way to eat meat that is both easy on the planet and good for my health. Meatme is a company I discovered who can fuel me and my family with meat the keeps me aligned with these values.

I love how Meatme works with the farmers and also helps educate their consumers on what it takes to raise happy, healthy sustainable animals.

When you buy from Meatme, you get meat that is raised here in Canada (and not from a factory, from an actual small farmer who cares), uses far less water than factory-farmed meat and is free of any hormones or antibiotics in the meat. This is a VERY different kind of system than most supermarket meat.

But what about the health side?

I have come across many studies, pseudo-studies and articles over the years that talk about how unhealthy meat is. But what I couldn’t find was a study that studied healthy individuals that were active, ate whole food organic diets and that only ate grass fed or pasture raised animals. All the studies are on the general public in the states or elsewhere where the people in the study could ( and probably are) eating a lot of processed and factory farmed meats, processed foods and tons of sugar.

After being back on the omnivore train for the past year, I’ve found a healthy balance with eating meat in moderation and sourcing meat that I know is easy on the planet. 

This is the short and sweet version of my journey back to eating meat. I share this not to convince you to eat a certain way, but to rethink you own values, beliefs and consider if your eating habits support them. 

My Michael Pollan mantra continues to be: 

“Eat Food. Not Too Much. Mostly Plants.”