meat on the plate

A few weeks ago, Lord Stern, an authority on climate change, caused quite a stir in the land of our beloved Queen when he lectured royal subjects and the rest of the world in an interview with the Times: "Meat is a wasteful use of water and creates a lot of greenhouse gases. It puts enormous pressure on the world’s resources. A vegetarian diet is better." People were up in arms. The government wants to take our meat away.

That's nonsense, of course. Lord Stern didn't speak as a government authority, and he probably doesn't want to take anyone's meat away. I'm convinced he wanted to cause some controversy and get people to think about what he considers an important subject. He was successful. I've followed his cue and been doing some thinking.

My first conclusion was that meat is tasty. I didn't have to think much about this. A life with a steak from Santa Maria del Sur is better than a vegetarian life, no matter what. Sushi from Hiro or Kiraku in Ealing can elevate spirits more than the most creatively prepared turnip. Whale carpaccio and reindeer filet in Norway or andouillette in France – vegetarians have no idea of what they're missing.

They knew what they're getting, though: a ride on the moral high horse. I've been on the receiving end of many a lecture on pointlessly suffering animals and detrimental effects of trans-fatty acids on human health. Now a new weapon has been added to the vegetarians' arsenal. Eating meat destroys our planet.

A lot of people thought that was taking it a bit far and came out forcefully to denounce Lord Stern's pronouncements and defeat the vilification of a diet that contains meat. The strategy employed by most commentators was that it's not the meat, it's the industrial way of producing it. With this I can agree, but only to an extent.

In the New York Times, the opinion of a "lawyer and livestock rancher" was published who found vegetarians just as guilty of heating the planet by eating soybeans grown on large swathes of land that used to be Amazonian rain forest – the same kind of soybeans that cows eat in much larger quantities, while belching and farting methane, so they can become a steak. I don't think this argument sticks. Another point was that everyone could just get meat from small farms that raise livestock in traditional ways that are not nearly as bad for the environment.

It's worthwhile putting a little farm with happy cows and pigs and a bunch of chattering chickens fluttering about the yard before your mind's eye. The farmer has a personal connection with each animal. He provides for them, feeds them and shelters them, and when their time has come he kills them most humanely. Idyllic, isn't it? Now picture McDonalds, selling millions of burgers each day. (Americans alone eat three cheeseburgers a week on average.) Will all that meat ever come from non-industrialized farms? Will fast-food chains and their customers be willing to pay what it costs to raise livestock slowly, ethically and in keeping with the environment?

I don't think so, and that's one of the crucial points of the discussion. The industrial production of meat might contribute to global warming, but changing that takes much more than saying, close the factories. There would be much less meat around, and prices would rise significantly. Add to that the fact that the number of meat eaters is actually increasing globally (owing to increased prosperity in developing countries), and it becomes clear that, as so often, change must begin in the head.

People must become aware of the consequences of eating a three-quid chicken or two burgers for two bucks. No one needs to become a vegetarian, but everyone should look at his or her meat consumption and decide whether it's sustainable and morally defensible. If behavioral change comes from these ruminations, Lord Stern is to be saluted.

It would be a rather vacuous post if all I did were copy articles from across the internet and regurgitate opinions. Lo and behold, there is some substance. Sometime this year, way before the current controversy erupted, I stopped eating chicken, mainly because most chicken tastes like the misery the birds endure in their caged hell-on-earth. How is it possible to raise a chicken on what the carcasses fetch in the stores later? I can imagine the living conditions. I can imagine them vividly by eating the chicken. It's in the taste, and it was the taste that made me abandon it.

This happened quite naturally, a decision stemming from a gut feeling, my taste imposing its will. But drenched by recent waves of public discussion, I've made another premature New Year's resolution. The first came to light nearly three weeks ago and concerned training with passion and running fast. Today's resolution concerns meat. Starting in 2010, I will only eat good meat from happy animals. I will stay away from chicken unless the bird was hand-raised by a loving farmer in Bresse, and I won't touch pigs from factories. That implies that I will eat vegetarian at the Imperial cafeteria until they convince me that they get their meat from sustainable sources. That also means asking for the provenience of meat at restaurants and maybe cooking more at home.

I questioned my eating habits for the first time in 2003, after reading Fast Food Nation, an eye-opening book. Interspersed between the gore and graphic violence of the slaughterhouses were inspiring episodes of ranchers lovingly grass-feeding their animals and deeply caring for them. Some ranches had websites with live-streams from their barns, so potential customers could verify the proper treatment of the animals. (They couldn't pick their favorite cow, though.)

When I, sufficiently enthusiastic about a farm in Park City that was mentioned in the book, went down to Wild Oats on Fourth South and inquired about grass-fed farm-raised beef, the guy behind the meat counter just stared at me blankly, and my enthusiasm waned (but I turned into a flexitarian). Now, six years and several green, organic and ethical hypes later, I'm sure that Whole Foods sells some fine steaks from hand-fed cows. They might not come cheap, but that's the point. Eat better, eat less, and pay the same. Save the planet by doing something good to yourself. Time to get my own high horse to joust the vegetarians from theirs.