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Meatless Monday

Chris and I gave up meat for Lent, and since Easter we have started eating it again; however, we have cut back quite a bit. We often go meatless several days each week, and today was one of those days. The ironic thing was that I spent most of the day working on a case study about pork production--specifically, on Chipotle's use of naturally raised, antibiotic-free pork. The evolution of agriculture over the past century has been drastic, and while some of the practices have had unintended detrimental consequences for animal, environmental, and human health, the farmers I know (my wonderful grandfather, uncles, and cousins) are conscientious people whose livelihood has come from raising healthy animals and abundant crops to feed people all over the U.S. and around the world...so I'm confident that continued improvements are ahead.

 My studies of population and environmental health, clinical medicine, and now food technology, have led me to believe that reduced meat consumption and eating "lower on the food chain" is one of the best things a person can do to improve his or her overall health while reducing the impacts of food production on the environment. This is not to say that we should abandon farmers or demonize all meat products. Rather, we should try to be aware of what we are eating and what went into its production. In the words of Michael Pollan, we should: "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants."

{Meatless Monday: a health initiative started in
the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health}
(this school is definitely top ten!)
Sometimes Chris and I use the Catholic definition of meatless, meaning that we eat fish...and other times we use the lacto-ovo-vegetarian definition. Either way, I am very lucky to have a husband who is an amazing cook...but I do think "anyone can cook," as long as you have good recipes, the right ingredients, and no fear!
(I do have fear, which is why I'm glad to have Chris...but if I were married to a non-cook, I think I would work to overcome that fear in order to eat well!) 

{a delicious salade nicoise by Chris}
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Location: Baltimore, MD, USA

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