Mark Bittman has seven ideas for how to reduce -- not eliminate, just reduce -- your consumption of meat. Folks should listen to him. It's better for your health, better for the planet, and probably better for the meat. For a more convincing argument in that direction, watch this video:
Also, it'll make you a more interesting and versatile cook. It's good to know how to use vegetables. Now, some of Bittman's suggestions don't make a lot of sense to me. I've never really bought into the whole "meat as condiment" idea, and if I'm going to cook a pork chop, I'm not going to limit it to two ounces. Rather, I follow the strategy Bittman describes as "meatless breakfasts and lunches and all-bets-are-off dinners." Last night, for instance, K. Capps brought about six pounds of locally raised, just-slaughtered beef to my house. He made a porterhouse which was quite probably the best steak I've ever eaten in my life. Point being, this isn't exactly a hard or self-abnegating way to live. But from a resources perspective, it's a step in the right direction.
