It's Not the Cows Who Are Mad

Trey Smith

[The drought gripping the US] is a full-on emergency, and USDA, a key agency involved in the national security issues surrounding our food and water supply, last week responded with a minor non-binding recommendation. In its inter-office newsletter to agency employees, it suggested that those who want to conserve water could simply refrain from eating meat on Mondays.

The idea is part of the worldwide “Meatless Monday” campaign, which the New York Times notes is backed by “thousands of corporate cafeterias, restaurants and schools.” In the face of a drought, it’s a pragmatic notion. Cornell University researchers estimate that “producing a pound of animal protein requires, on average, about 100 times more water than producing a pound of vegetable protein.” According to the U.S. Geological Survey, that means a typical hamburger requires a whopping 4,000 to 18,000 gallons of water to make.

Considering these numbers in juxtaposition to the drought, taking one day a week off from meat-eating seems like the absolute least we should be willing to do in a nation whose average citizen annually consumes an unfathomable 194 pounds of meat. And yet, in Washington, the USDA recommendation was a cause for outrage.

That’s right; upon the release of the USDA newsletter, lawmakers who have pocketed massive campaign contributions from the meat-centric agribusiness industry were out in force — as if the agency had declared war on the American Way of Life.
~ from “Meatless Monday”: Where’s the Beef? by David Sirota ~

If you will recall, I am a vegetarian, so this recommendation isn't directed at me. Personally, I think it would be better if meat-eaters went meatless for one week of each month or, better still, went entirely meatless!

Be that as it may, under any circumstances, going meatless for one day per week would be good for our shared environment. With that said, I'm not surprised at all with the furor this meager suggestion has caused. The consumption of meat in this country is about as apple pie as one can get.

I'm sure that some of the folks howling are worried that, if the suggestion were to take hold, what would come next? A call to give up God for one day a week (i.e., Godless Fridays)?