Environmentally frugal. . . . .

I work full time during the day, and then to earn extra money, I work at night from home, doing web research concerning environmental health issues. Because of this, I end up reading a lot of articles about climate change, pollution, toxins in our food and consumers goods, and all sorts of other uplifting topics!

Lately, I've been considering my food choices, and how those choices relate to the environment. For example, I don't eat much meat or poultry (they're expensive!), but due to the knowledge I've gained through my night job, I definitely think about it every time I pick up a package of ground beef. Raising cattle for food contributes greatly to greenhouse gas emissions, and is generally not so great for our environment (see this New York Times article for more)---not to mention my budget!

Added to the environmental issues is the fact that I can't stand to see anything or anyone suffer, including animals. This is a video I recently saw that depicted the horrific way sick cattle are treated in an attempt to get them to walk into the slaughterhouse (the only way the cattle owner will get paid for his product). Not only is the treatment bordering on torture and definitely inhumane, but think of the fact that SICK cows are being added to our food supply!

So given the environmental and philosophical problems related to eating animal products, in my quest to decrease my spending, pay down debt, and increase savings and financial security, I decided to attempt to eat less meat and poultry. Granted, I don't think I'll ever be able to give up cheese----that's just unthinkable to me right now. Baby steps! Tomorrow I'll write about what I had for dinner tonight: a "meat" loaf made out of something called 'TVP', or textured vegetable protein, which is a very inexpensive meat substitute. Stay tuned!