Is it time to stop eating meat?

Dr Crayfish · 03-02-2017 8:01pm

For those of you saying all Irish beef is great quality and pretty much organic, that's fair enough, but also look at what farming has done to our environment. We have zero wilderness on this island, none at all. We have I think the lowest forest coverage in Europe. If we carry on eating meat the way we are on this planet, countries like Brazil will end up like Ireland - no wilderness and no trees, and no wildlife.

Billy86 · 03-02-2017 8:04pm

Mr. FoggPatches wrote: »

You can't win. You farm cattle until they're ready for the factory and you get sh*t about methane causing global warming but if you eradicate the methane production by producing veal, you're a monster

It's about finding a happy medium. Veal for lunch, steak for dinner, alternate between them for breakfast.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1 · 03-02-2017 8:44pm

I could not do without my meat, and red meat at that. I eat meat 5 days a week. A typical week would have dinners of sirloin steak, homemade beefburgers, sausages & bacon, pork fillet, and beef stew. I'll get by with eggs and spuds for a day if I had to but I need my meat. I've seen how it's reared and how it's slaughtered but I still like my meat.

One_Of_Shanks · 03-02-2017 9:10pm

I like my meat (herself is veggie) but I've learned a huge lesson lately from going to the local butchers, the difference in the quality/taste versus supermarkets is MASSIVE. Couldn't believe the difference.
I had got used to getting a bit of meat from the supermarket just for myself for Sundays and it was only when herself was away for a week that I figured I'd be eating more meat while alone so I went to the butchers and stocked up.
My God. The difference is unreal.

We grow our own veggies/fruits/nuts so we're only dependent on supermarkets for those from November-March (early may for certain things) too and again the difference in taste is enormous.
For example tomatoes and cucumbers from the greenhouse are like nothing you can get in supermarkets but it works the same way with meat from butchers versus supermarkets.

It was on the news today that there will be a shortage of lettuce and courgettes in the UK soon due to wet weather in Europe.
But you can buy a courgette plant and a plastic pot to grow it in for a combined total of a fiver and it would keep you going til late October.
We had two plants of them and had to give them away last year coz they grew too fast, likewise lettuce.
So why keep buying them covered in pesticides when you can grow them plus its good for the kids to see you growing your own food.

Of course with meat it's different to a degree but you can get infinitely better quality meat and very cheap/fresher fish by just going to a good butcher or fish monger.

If you're going to eat something, we should be eating better quality. The poxy supermarkets have everyone brainwashed and lazy.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1 · 03-02-2017 9:15pm

One_Of_Shanks wrote: »

I like my meat (herself is veggie) but I've learned a huge lesson lately from going to the local butchers, the difference in the quality/taste versus supermarkets is MASSIVE. Couldn't believe the difference.
I had got used to getting a bit of meat from the supermarket just for myself for Sundays and it was only when herself was away for a week that I figured I'd be eating more meat while alone so I went to the butchers and stocked up.
My God. The difference is unreal.

Of course with meat it's different to a degree but you can get infinitely better quality meat and very cheap/fresher fish by just going to a good butcher or fish monger.

If you're going to eat something, we should be eating better quality. The poxy supermarkets have everyone brainwashed and lazy.

Fully agree. We now only buy meat from a butcher and the quality difference is incredible. The prices are better too.

One_Of_Shanks · 03-02-2017 9:30pm

Christina Uptight Mimicry wrote: »

Fully agree. We now only buy meat from a butcher and the quality difference is incredible. The prices are better too.

Yeah spot on. The big problem really is people have become accustomed to doing the convenient thing and the meat/fish has to be bought under the same roof as the other stuff.
But why? Just give a good local butcher and fish-monger a chance for one week and you'd never go back.
Miles better quality, way fresher and it's actually cheaper.

You know the way these supermarkets say try us for a week and see the savings....
Well if everyone took one week and gave the local butcher and fish-monger a chance, they'd find it even cheaper and 3 times nicer.
Plus it's better for the economy than lining Tescos pockets or whoever

m5ex9oqjawdg2i · 03-02-2017 9:58pm

Dr Crayfish wrote: »

Why is everyone so short sighted?

Money, simply put. There's no need to fish or farm so much, but the more you catch and harvest, the bigger the profit. Food is wasted hourly in our society, we don't need what we import/produce.

-=al=- wrote: »

A serious answer in After hours? Surely not!

What is with this mentality that you can only post nonsensical tripe on AH? AH is for threads that don't really have a home elsewhere on boards. It's less strict that other sub forums, but it's not a shít dump for idiocy.

freshpopcorn · 03-02-2017 10:03pm

I'm from a small county and in my experience people don't really care about the environment.(people on boards seem to more than ever in my experience)
Example The main reason I know why people recycle is because it's cheaper or free compared to sending it to the land fill. It's nothing to do with looking after the environment.

m5ex9oqjawdg2i · 03-02-2017 10:05pm

freshpopcorn wrote: »

I'm from a small country and in my experience people don't really care about the environment.(people on boards seem to more than ever in my experience)
Example The main reason I know why people recycle is because it's cheaper or free compared to sending it to the land fill. It's nothing to do with looking after the environment.

Cork isn't a country.

freshpopcorn · 03-02-2017 10:07pm

Steven Witty Succotash wrote: »

Cork isn't a country.

Meant county!

One_Of_Shanks · 03-02-2017 10:11pm

Steven Witty Succotash wrote: »

Cork isn't a country.

World GAA champs 2010.

Sam Kade · 03-02-2017 10:13pm

Dr Crayfish wrote: »

For those of you saying all Irish beef is great quality and pretty much organic, that's fair enough, but also look at what farming has done to our environment. We have zero wilderness on this island, none at all. We have I think the lowest forest coverage in Europe. If we carry on eating meat the way we are on this planet, countries like Brazil will end up like Ireland - no wilderness and no trees, and no wildlife.

Zero wilderness, you obviously don't get outdoors much. Did you ever see a mountain or a bog? Plenty of them up the west coast?

jameorahiely · 03-02-2017 10:18pm

Dr Crayfish wrote: »

For those of you saying all Irish beef is great quality and pretty much organic, that's fair enough, but also look at what farming has done to our environment. We have zero wilderness on this island, none at all. We have I think the lowest forest coverage in Europe. If we carry on eating meat the way we are on this planet, countries like Brazil will end up like Ireland - no wilderness and no trees, and no wildlife.

They'll have to clear more land to grow vegs so that arguement is invalid

Wanderer78 · 03-02-2017 10:20pm

we landfill roughly 30% of our food, this is unsustainable. this is largely to do with our failing economic systems based on fundamentally flawed economic theories and principles. of course its also due to poor end user practices amongst other things.

Wanderer78 · 03-02-2017 10:23pm

freshpopcorn wrote: »

I'm from a small county and in my experience people don't really care about the environment.(people on boards seem to more than ever in my experience)
Example The main reason I know why people recycle is because it's cheaper or free compared to sending it to the land fill. It's nothing to do with looking after the environment.

so is the problem with the individuals or with our systems and policies that try deal with these issues?

freshpopcorn · 03-02-2017 10:30pm

Wanderer78 wrote: »

so is the problem with the individuals or with our systems and policies that try deal with these issues?

A little bit of both to be honest. I'm from a farming background and a lot of the environmental stuff in the farming sector that's come up in last decade or so is generally just laughed at by farmers in my experience!(these are generally intelligent people)

Wanderer78 · 03-02-2017 10:52pm

freshpopcorn wrote: »

A little bit of both to be honest. I'm from a farming background and a lot of the environmental stuff in the farming sector that's come up in last decade or so is generally just laughed at by farmers in my experience!(these are generally intelligent people)

ive very little experience with farmers but from what i hear and been told, farmers are actually very much environmentally aware and environmentally caring which im sure is very true. it would be hard not to be, you spend all day outside and with nature, something i do as much as possible. i personally think of a lot of environmental policies are more about profiteering and moving the responsibilities of our environmental issues from certain section of society and placing them on the shoulders of others.

for example our 'polluter pays' principle is effectively a panacea. it effectively puts the responsibilities of these issues onto the end user, but this isnt the full story of these issues. the bigger picture is more complex, for example, in regards general waste, black bin rubbish is material that no longer has a useful use and must be disposed of. many of these materials are problematic and generally are disposed of by land fill or incinerator. both of these methods are also problematic, but my question is, why do we allow these materials to be introduced into the system in the first place and why is it almost the sole responsibility of the end user to deal with it and pay for?

this has lead me to an idea called 'the creator pays' principle, i.e. those that create these materials also must be held accountable for 'creating' these problematic materials. you will find that these producers are 'almost' exempt from our environmental policies, by doing so, would be seen as 'interfering with the market' :rolleyes:

apologies for the rant but id be interested in hearing it from a farmer's perspective as these issues are really annoying me now. i have an environmental background to some degree

freshpopcorn · 03-02-2017 10:57pm

To answer your question wanderer78. In my experience farmers care about the environment in some ways but not in others many farmers I know have no issues not using sprays etc which are bad for the environment but one thing that they don't really care about is methane gas from cows because they don't really accept the damage that they are doing!

Wanderer78 · 03-02-2017 11:02pm

freshpopcorn wrote: »

To answer your question wanderer78. In my experience farmers care about the environment in some ways but not in others many farmers I know have no issues not using sprays etc which are bad for the environment but one thing that they don't really care about is methane gas from cows because they don't really accept the damage that they are doing!

thats interesting, thats probably a normal human response though, i.e. most if not all of us care little or not at all, for damage we cant see. im obviously aware of the dangers of things such as methane but we actually cant really see it as such, in a way, its an abstract danger. im sure farmers get fed up of being told what they can and cant do? ive spoken to fishermen about these kind of issues, always interesting to hear their opinions.

Jodotman · 03-02-2017 11:07pm

Only fresh chicken and fresh fish and very seldom a steak. Meat like sausages, packaged meat like ham and luncheon roll are terrible for you.

Usually cook a chicken a week which does me for sambos!

I'd be all for banning cow meat and improving public transport to cut down on emissons.

Graces7 · 04-02-2017 7:22am

freshpopcorn wrote: »

Ever year we ended up with a lamb or a few who ends up being a bit of a pet due to issues with it's mother but if we kept every pet lamb we'd have a field of them by now. We've one pet lamb from a few years ago but the others had to go the mart after a time.

A true story from my island years... A farmer, tough big guy, raises a lamb, bottle feedsit etc..

Then of course it must go off to mart with the rest of them.

So off they all go to the pier

When this big tough farmer starts to walk away, the lamb starts bleating and crying...

Yep, big tough farmer turns round, grabs the lamb and takes it back home. as the pier echoes with laughter...

I had always wanted to raise a lamb and for me it was a deeply moving and wonderful time...

And then she went off to a local farmer I knew would take good care of her and to have her own lambs.

Graces7 · 04-02-2017 7:31am

Angel Crow wrote: »

Well that's exactly my point. That's why it's unjustifiable to consume meat the level that we that we do. I've no problem with anyone hunting for food, but I wonder how many people would actually have the stomach to kill an animal themselves. Much less traumatic to pay someone else to do your dirty work.

I once got severely reprimanded for saying that after a friendly cow had licked my hand I could never again eat tongue

It is partly a generational thing. I grew up in the 40s and 50s when meat was a luxury. And cheap cuts were all around In Yrks, they call it " hazlitt" or face.. saw on the food forum a query re beef cheeks.. these are now a luxury gourmet item.

On eg island farms as here, a family would raise a pig and all except the tail and the grunt would be eaten.

I could never ever go back to eating meat. Have occasionally bought eg a cottage pie but the dog invariably gets it....same with ready meals. Love the potatoes and vegetables but share the meat with the critters.

It is personal choice. wonder why so defensive on it?

Graces7 · 04-02-2017 7:33am

Dr Crayfish wrote: »

For those of you saying all Irish beef is great quality and pretty much organic, that's fair enough, but also look at what farming has done to our environment. We have zero wilderness on this island, none at all. We have I think the lowest forest coverage in Europe. If we carry on eating meat the way we are on this planet, countries like Brazil will end up like Ireland - no wilderness and no trees, and no wildlife.

Where do you live that you can say that? I have wilderness on my doorstep.

Graces7 · 04-02-2017 7:35am

freshpopcorn wrote: »

To answer your question wanderer78. In my experience farmers care about the environment in some ways but not in others many farmers I know have no issues not using sprays etc which are bad for the environment but one thing that they don't really care about is methane gas from cows because they don't really accept the damage that they are doing!

and slurry ! Liberally spread and sprayed ...and yes, weedkillers...

freshpopcorn · 04-02-2017 8:26am

Graces7 wrote: »

A true story from my island years... A farmer, tough big guy, raises a lamb, bottle feedsit etc..

Then of course it must go off to mart with the rest of them.

So off they all go to the pier

When this big tough farmer starts to walk away, the lamb starts bleating and crying...

Yep, big tough farmer turns round, grabs the lamb and takes it back home. as the pier echoes with laughter...

I had always wanted to raise a lamb and for me it was a deeply moving and wonderful time...

And then she went off to a local farmer I knew would take good care of her and to have her own lambs.

It's fine for that big tough farmer to do it with one lamb but he couldn't do it with several lambs. He could very easily end up with a field of several rams and this wouldn't be fun.
It's lovely raising a lamb by hand but when you've a lot of sheep/lambs to look after they soon loose the novelty.

JupiterKid · 04-02-2017 8:40am

Humans are omnivores and eat meat and vegetables/cereals. There is archaeological evidence that switching to a meat based diet led to the evolution of bigger brains

BUt I do think we eat too much meat in the west, especially red meat. We could all probably cut down on meat consumption but personally I,would not go vegetarian.

04-02-2017 10:12am

Graces7 wrote: »

and slurry ! Liberally spread and sprayed ...and yes, weedkillers...

Slurry is a 100% natural fertiliser and of course they use weed killer or the place would be wild with unwanted and nutrient consuming crap growing in fields and in crops.

Not eating meat is unnatural for humans and just because with a lot of effort it is possible to manage without meat is not a reason to not eat it.

Sam Kade · 04-02-2017 11:40am

Graces7 wrote: »

and slurry ! Liberally spread and sprayed ...and yes, weedkillers...

Do you know that slurry is recycled organic matter?

kowloon · 04-02-2017 1:11pm

Everyone knows climate change is made up by lefty liberal muslim abortionists. We should eat more meat, particularly pork and pork products.

04-02-2017 1:19pm

freshpopcorn wrote: »

To answer your question wanderer78. In my experience farmers care about the environment in some ways but not in others many farmers I know have no issues not using sprays etc which are bad for the environment but one thing that they don't really care about is methane gas from cows because they don't really accept the damage that they are doing!

None too bothered about shooting animals and fowl with antibiotics from birth.

Give up meat. Not a chance.

But wouldn't miss the processed sausage and bacon ****e OP mentioned.
Eat a lot less meat than seems normal for most nowadays. 70% of the meat we do eat, steak, stews, mince,sausage burger, all venison/game shot by myself or friends. No chemical crap or antibiotics

Is it time to stop eating meat?

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