A VEGIVORE APPROACH TO EATING
EATING ETHICALLY
COOKING FOR THE PLANET
COOKING NUTRITIOUS, DELICIOUS, HEALTHY CHEAP FOOD EASILY
A
vegivore approach to ethical eating
I
have become a vegivore without even realising it and I feel much better for it
both in body and soul. A few months ago
I became aware that I was no longer enjoying eating lots of meat, especially in
the form of large chunks dominating a meal.
I decided to reduce my meat intake, especially red meat and to take more
delight in eating vegetables, fruit, nuts and grains and protein from eggs, and
fish and the like.
I
recognise that humans are inherently omnivores and eating red meat has been
important to our evolutionary success but I realise that there is no need to
eat meat every day to stay healthy. I
would also like to reduce the number of animals that have to be killed to feed
me, and I feel that resources that go into raising lots of animals for
slaughter in wealthier countries could be more equitably spread around the
world especially with our growing world population and eating less meat reduces
the carbon footprint of my diet. I have
not become a vegan I am just cutting down.
When I do eat meat, I really enjoy it as a tasty treat.
I
first became aware of the term “vegivore” in an article by Rosemary Stanton in
the October edition of Good Taste 2012 entitled “the rise of the vegivore” which
describes the change in many people’s approach to eating as a “foodie
revolution”. It is about seeing meat not
as the enemy but as an accompaniment to a meal rather than the central part. She gives good reasons for this approach and
five ideas for achieving it. Of course,
people in many cultures have been using this approach for years.
LINKS
Rosemary
Stanton gives suggestions on how to have a varied diet along the lines of
vegivore principles at http://www.taste.com.au/mag-media/3/0/340.pdf
Paula
Goodyer, a health writer, has written an interesting article for the Sydney Morning Herald on this approach
to eating.
She
says “You don’t have to be a vegetarian to be
a vegivore – instead you’re happy to eat an all-vegetable meal sometimes or to
make plant foods the main focus of a dish with meat as a supporting act or a
condiment. In other words it’s a new recognition that a meal without meat as
its centrepiece isn’t incomplete.
She suggest that to eat like a vegivore:
·
Bring
on the spice Big flavours like cumin and ras-el
hanouf or a sprinkling of dukka bring out the best in pulses and grains
·
Cook
with quinoa This high protein seed cooks like a
grain and is a great base for pilafs flavoured with chilli, mushrooms, roast
veg and nuts
·
Add
nuts The plant world’s most convenient
protein – stir fry cashews with Asian greens or mix pistachios or crushed
hazelnuts with vegetables or grains
“This isn’t about getting militant
about meat …It’s about questioning the casual use of so
many living things to produce more animal food than we need to eat. Animal
welfare in food production might be higher on the national radar than ever
before, but the bottom line is that we’d make things better for animals if we
just ate fewer of them – and counted the health benefits of eating, not no
meat, but less.”
LINK
EATING ETHICALLY
·
Is
slave or child labour used in the production of your food?
·
Are
people paid a decent wage to produce the food you eat?
·
Are
the farmers that produce your food treated fairly?
·
Does
the production of your food cause damage to the environment?
·
Are
animals used in the production of your food treated humanely?
·
Does
the production of your food help local communities survive and thrive or
condemn them to poverty?
·
How
do your food choices contribute to the equitable distribution of resources
across the globe?
·
Do
you eat more food than you need to?
·
Do
you waste much of the food you buy?
·
Do
you buy a lot of luxury food?
·
Are
considerable resources used to transport and package your food?
·
Is
the food you buy produced in a sustainable way?
“Globally, the 20% of the world's people in
the highest-income countries account for 86% of total private consumption
expenditures - the poorest 20% a minuscule 1.3%. ...”
From the Ethical Consumer Guide
So
ethical eating is important.
We sometimes
underestimate the power of the individual.
We as consumers have enormous power it is just that we don’t usually
exercise it in a co-ordinated way. We know that when we pay our proper taxes,
pay higher electricity bills to reduce greenhouse emissions, donate to charity,
or join community service organisations that we are contributing to the greater
good. But a little self-sacrifice at the check-out counter by millions of
people has even more power to change the world.
Just
imagine if we decided to not only base our purchasing decisions on cost and
convenience but also ethics. Just
imagine if everyone decided to never buy eggs from caged chickens again. The keeping of hens in cramped, unnatural,
even cruel conditions would cease overnight.
If everyone in the world refused to eat whale meat or buy whale products
whaling would be absolutely pointless. If
we only bought pork from pigs that were free to forage and move around they
would never be squashed into tiny, crowded pens in huge squalid piggeries again.
We
have the power to send unethical companies broke. Some companies base their profits on the use
of slave labour, the exploitation of children, the degradation of the
environment, cruelty to animals, condemning people to poverty, ignoring safety
standards and not paying proper tax. They can only stay in business if we buy
their products. Instead of thinking of
the unassailable power of multinational companies we can think of the
importance of our individual decisions.
See
the online Ethical Consumer Guide for
issues and information that will help you shop ethically.
The Ethical Consumer Guide gives five
principles for sustainable shopping:
1. Every purchase
makes an impact
2.
Ask
“Do I need It?”
3.
Learn
about the issues
4.
Seek
out a best buy
5.
Make
lasting change
The
website also gives detailed information on different types of food, brands, and
companies to help you make ethic shopping decisions. It can help answer the
questions you need to answer – what does your food contain, where does it come
from, who makes it, are they fair traders and do they respect human rights and
animal welfare? You can download the publication Ethical Supermarket Shopping for free at
Links
+to+take+grocery+shopping,17139
This
website gives information on five phone applications which can help you make
better informed decisions about food. One
application gives ideas on how to shop ethically and sustainably.
This
website has an interesting article on ethical eating.
COOKING FOR THE PLANET
The basic philosophy underlying ‘cooking for the planet’ is an approach that everyone of us can apply to a greater or lesser extent and by doing so help maintain and improve the health of our planet. It is simply about making the most of good food in a way that makes the best use of our resources.
We can do this by:
· Growing our own food – in our backyards, balconies or allotments or any disused space.· Sharing what we grow with others for example, by specializing in what we grow and swapping our produce for produce that someone else grows.
· Pooling our resources – for example by making use of bulk food purchases – its cheaper and involves less packaging.
· Using seasonal food and preserving food for use out of season – it should be cheaper and riper.
· Eating healthier food – it is usually not as highly processed as ‘junk’ food.
· Buying local food – it doesn’t cost as much to transport and is likely to be better quality as it can be left to ripen more.
· Buying fresh food and using it to make meals from scratch rather than buying ready-made meals that use more resources because they have to last longer, look enticing, and be packaged.
· By making sure that all of the food that comes into our home is used up in some way or other.
· By making use of the whole animal rather than just eating the choice cuts of meat.
· Reducing consumption – making menu plans, shopping lists, buying less not more.
· Eating in a way that does not waste food – for example, by factoring leftovers into menu planning.
· Being adaptable – for example, using what we have left in the fridge and cupboards before going shopping instead of throwing food out later because it has reached it use by date.
· Making use of technology such as vacuum packing and freezing to preserve food.
· Be prepared to pay for good food and in doing so encourage small farm holders and artisans.
· Not insisting on perfection – so that potatoes in the supermarket do not have to be one and perfectly smooth, for example.
· Obtaining good value for the money we spend on food – its cost is a large part of the budget – this means also considering the nutritional value of food and its contribution to our future.
· Eating less – this is a good way of avoiding the obesity epidemic and its associated health risks.
· Taking advantage of what other cuisines have to offer and their solutions to making the best of food and not being limited to one approach to eating.
COOKING NUTRITIOUS, DELICIOUS, HEALTHY CHEAP FOOD EASILY
You don’t need a recipe to cook a healthy, delicious and cheap meal just some knowledge of basic techniques that can then be endlessly varied. This ‘no recipe’ approach will make it easier to make use of what you have available and what is in season. You can take advantage of the cooking styles of different cultures and make your own fusion style dishes to make the most of the produce you have on hand.
Once you have mastered the general approach to cooking a particular type of dish you can make up a delicious meal whenever you like.
LINKS
How to cook without a recipe by Matt Preston
This gives succinct basic recipes which can be adapted to a multitude of uses.
‘The How to’section of the Taste.com.au website also gives lots of cooking tips and information on how to prepare particular ingredients
http://www.taste.com.au/news+features/opinion/articles/4221/how+to+cook+without+a+recipe+by+matt+pre
Jamie Oliver’s pick of Australian food blogs
http://www.jamieoliver.com/au/news/best-australian-food-bloggers
Jamie Oliver has an excellent website which includes information on how to prepare and store food
http://www.jamieshomecookingskills.com.au/fact-sheets.php
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