It is thought that the ratio of 10:1 clearly represents the amount of vegetable matter needed to make meat. For example, the amount of meat one person might be eat, comes from an animal who ate enough food to feed ten people. This fact, no doubt, is 100% true, but like many things, when we look deep enough, there is much more to the story. This 10:1 ratio only applies to grain-fed cattle. The ratio for lamb is 5:1, and 3:1 for pork. (Please note: the ratios for poultry and seafood are so small, they are not even considered relevant). And again, this is only for grain fed livestock, which will be important to remember later on. This ratio unfairly represents the actual amount of vegetable matter to meat product, because it only factors in actual meat values. When by-products like, leather, wool, milk, gelatin etc. of the animal are considered, (which we must do, seeing in most non-western cultures the meat is actually the secondary product), these ratios are cut in half. So now we are left with 5:1, 2.5:1 and 1.5:1 respectively. But the skewed information does not end there. Remember these numbers are for grain fed animals, which unfortunately is not the norm. When livestock are fed a grass diet while roaming a pasture, the meat to vegetable matter ratio falls even lower.
I will switch gears for minute and look at the vegetarian options. Obviously eating vegetables has 1:1 ratio...duh! But protein substitutes, like tofu and other soy based products are much higher than this. It is widely accepted that the soy product, because derived from vegetable matter, also must have a 1:1 ratio, and although at first glance this is true, just like at first glance meat has a 10:1 ratio, there is much more to the story. Because in western culture, most of our soy products are imported, (and most of our meat products are domestic) they have an enormous ecological footprint simply from shipment, but also from the making of these products themselves, almost all soy products are highly processed. Not to mention the preservatives and above average amount of non-biodegradable packaging used in many of these products. True, this does not mean that soy products have a ratio more than that of beef, but at slightly over 2:1, seafood and grass-fed poultry and pork seem to be the better option.
Lastly, 25% of the world is deemed pasture land unsuitable for growing crops. This is a huge amount, but it is perfect for grazing livestock. With a very very small amount of land suitable for growing vegetable matter digestable to humans, livestock are actually the most efficient way of converting non-digestible matter like straw, grasses and leaves, into food the human stomach can digest. So what does this all mean? Basically, that there are so many factors to consider before forming opinions, but the conclusion I come to after much research is that the best way to use what you eat to reduce your ecological footprint on the earth, (which I hope we all do in some way), is to simply reduce the amount of meat we eat. Either extreme will only cause more harm than good, and as with most things in life, moderation is essential. But what responsible eaters must do is demand that our meat be grass-fed livestock which as been allowed to graze naturally and live as close as is reasonable to how nature intended, while still realizing traditional farming techniques, are highly evolved and are safer for the animal than many of us might think. And for you meat lovers out there, cutting down might be a challenge for you, because believe it or not, the recommended amount of meat you need to eat in one day is only 2 or 3 ounces, which is the equivalent to about half a deck of cards. Not very much is it? But this perfect proportion will keep you healthier and reduce you environmental impact more than any other diet. The last myth that needs dispelling is that meat is fatty and therefore bad for you. This brings us back to the importance of grass-fed livest once again. When raised in a natural way, and allowed to graze in pasture, the fat in the animal is different. Not all fat is equal, grass-fed animals have much lower levels of saturated fats (bad fat), and much higher levels of omega-3 and omega-6 fats, which are essential to lowering cholesterol and healthy brain development.
What is healthy seems to be ever changing, but I feel we are getting closer and closer to the understanding the truth. The above facts are only one aspect of the many reason one may choose to live either way of life and are not meant to pass judgement. There are so many reasons why one may choose to eat what they eat, but being very interested in my own health and the health of our planet, the stated points are of the most significance to me.
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