Extended Essay #2: Rough Draft

Eat Meat.

            I’ve never really thought about why I eat what I eat. The contents of my plate rested solely on the principle of “this tastes good and that doesn’t.” My actions just a few minutes ago can attest to this fact. Finding it hard to focus, I went to the refrigerator for a snack and pulled out a Fuji apple-watermelon Vitamin Water. Not usually my drink of choice, I decided to try it for something different. I almost gagged over the first sip; it tasted exactly like my memory of liquid grape cold medicine. I promptly replaced the cap and returned it to the kitchen, opting instead for a bowl of Apple Cinnamon Cheerios, always a delicious treat. This is how my food logic works; if something tastes good, eat it, if something tastes bad, don’t. Simple as that. But what I’ve learned over the past few months from being immersed in food culture is that nothing is simple – society doesn’t let it be. From reports about to nutrition to the craze over organic food, Americans are exposed to a multitude of advice about their diet. This deluge of information can be difficult to sort through once dinner rolls around, so it could be beneficial to consider which data to listen to and how that will define personal eating habits in advance. When considering my relation to the foods I eat, I decided to start small and pick just one category: meat. How do/will I orient myself towards meat in my diet? Just for this one type of food, there are many options to be measured. There is the basic choice to eat meat or not to eat meat and the larger dilemma about what kind of meat to eat, organic or non, not to mention grass-fed. There is also the question of quantity; if meat should be eaten, how much should be consumed? Weighing all the possibilities I came up with a maxim to eat meat by: Eat meat. Not too much. Don’t discriminate.

·         I’m going to eat meat

o   I like meat, it tastes good.

o   We were anthropologically ordained to eat meat. A. robustus (one of the many hominids in our family tree) ate plants and went extinct. Their skulls show this with their large jaws, teeth, and sagittal crest for anchoring jaw muscles. Spending most of the day gathering roots and other vegetation, they had little time to develop much else and eventually all died. At the same time the species A. africanus was around. They were mostly meat eaters an this high calorie, efficient diet gave them more time in the day to explore other things like making tools. And guess what? They didn’t die out. Who am I to knock the eating habits of our species ancestors; it seemed to work pretty well for them. (Use Zimmer)

o   The typical argument against eating meat is that the production of it is unethical; it harms animals. Well guess what, the cow is going to die either way. The world isn’t going to stop producing meat simple because I don’t eat it, so I’m just going to go ahead and eat it. Also they are animals, and while that sounds cruel, it is a natural response. We are above most creatures in the food chain. And if the production of meat isn’t Disney enough for people, that’s life; it’s messy. (Use Hamershlag and “The History of Ballpark Food”)

·         Why I don’t feel that is unethical

o   For those who say eating meat that comes from animals who have been mistreated is wrong, so we should only eat organic, I would respond that that argument is highly hypocritical. The animal is killed either way. If you are going to eat meat, eat meat. Only eating animals that have been allowed a “natural life” is only making the consumer feel better. I’m pretty sure the animal doesn’t want to end up as dinner, regardless of the journey it took to get on the plate.

o   What I would say is unethical is hunting. This is just more killing that is unnecessary. Plenty of meat is being produced and shelved in super markets every day; we don’t need to be hunting, too.  But by my chosen line of thought, if served fresh game, I would probably eat it, rather than let it waste. Boycotting the meat won’t bring the animal back to life.

o   Another argument brought up by organic advocates is that organic meat is also “healthier” for the consumer. While the for the raising of the animal this may be true, post slaughter isn’t typically cited in this discussion. Processing of organic animals is actually similar if not more unsanitary than the process of regular meat. (Use Van Loo et al)

·         I’ll eat it in moderation

o   For my health, I am going to try and view meat as more of a side dish. It has been shown that consuming large quantities of meat affect heart and overall bodily health. I care about my body and I feel that eating well is a small thing to do for a beneficial outcome. While propaganda has a bad connotation, I really buy into the USDA’s new health campaign with the redesigned food pyramid, MyPlate. The visual it creates really puts what should be eaten at meal times in perspective. The idea of an entrée is dropped to be replaced by a balanced, proportional plate. (Use Ornish and U.S. Department of Agriculture)

o   I am also going to cut back on my meat intake for the environment. Discuss how meat production contributes to pollution and contributes to energy. While this could be pointed to as a reason to cut out meat entirely, that argument can be countered. It is a reality that things cost energy. We know cars burn up gas and emit harmful chemicals into the air, but we don’t stop driving because it is a necessity.  The same can be said for electrical plants and consequently meat. Just because it uses up energy, doesn’t mean meat production should come to a halt. We should just be more conscience about ways we can conserve. (Use Hamershlag)

·         Conclusion

Works Cited

Hamershlag, Kari. "Meat Eater's Guide: Report." Meat Eater's Guide to Climate Change and

            Health. Environmental Working Group, 2011. Web. 20 May 2012.

"The History of Ballpark Food." Web log post. History in the Headlines. History.com, 31 Mar. 

            2011. Web. 14 Apr. 2012.

Ornish, Dean. "Holy Cow! What's Good for You Is Good for Our Planet." Archives of Internal

            Medicine 172.1 (2012): 563-64. Print.          

Pollan, Michael. "An Animal's Place." New York Times 10 Nov. 2002. The New York Times. The

            New York Times, 10 Nov. 2002. Web. 20 May 2012.

U.S. Department of Agriculture. What's On Your Plate? U.S. Department of Agriculture, 2011.

            ChooseMyPlate.gov. USDA, Aug. 2011. Web. 20 May 2012.

Van Loo, Ellen J., Walid Alali, and Steven C. Ricke. "Food Safety and Organic Meats." Annual

            Review of Food Science and Technology 3 (2012): 203-25. Ebsco Host. Web. 20 May.

            2012.

Zimmer, Carl. "Great Mysteries of Human Evolution." Discover Sept. 2003: 34-42. Print.