I totally agree with this. Eating meat in itself in moderate amounts is sustainable. It's when we totally disconnect and start thinking that meat comes from a factory, you start buying into the "supersized" mentality, all you can eat buffets, etc.
When I was a teenager, I went hunting with my dad, and I shot a rabbit. It was about the most awful memory ever, but it sure stuck with me. Once you fully comprehend that meat came from a living creature, you tend to eat less of it and never waste it.

That being said, I am still always trying to cut back on meat intake, and I think we all should. It isn't easy. All I meant by my last post is that you have to do whatever you can to wean yourself off meat, and "connecting" with it- call it guilt, call it education, whatever- it works!

Have you tried actually killing something before you eat it? I mean, I have hens for eggs, and one wasn't laying, so after some internal debate I decided to eat her. Cutting her head off was not easy, but actually doing it made me confront me carnivorism in a way that debating with my online pals doesn't. If killing something personally to eat it is too gross for you, then maybe you shouldn't be eating meat. For me, it made eating meat more thoughtful (less thoughtless), and I don't eat as much now as I did before. I would recommend the same approach for cows, but you'll probably have a hard time finding a farm or slaughterhouse that would let you pull the trigger.

I had a similar experience as a child. My dad took me grouse hunting for the first time, and when we came across one he shot it. I walked up to it and stared at it for a while then turned to my dad and said " Okay you can let it go now". My dad found himself having to explain to me that it was dead and that we would be eating it. I think from that moment on I started gaining more respect for what I ate, and to the horror of my mom asked at every meal what part of what animal we were eating. In fact a lot of the food I ate growing up, despite the fact I lived in a town surrounded by forests and swamps instead of farms, was grown, shot, caught, and butchered by us or family and friends. I miss fresh food.

If you are wanting to cut out meat totally it will be a little difficult. The first month I found was the hardest. I have been a vegetarian for about 6 years now. There is a lot of really good vegetarian food but there is also a lot of not so good. in my expeience its a trial and error thing. You can add tofu to anything and it just absorbes the taste of whatever you are cooking it with. Just get into the habbit of asking for things with no meat when you go out.Good Luck

It's easy...just change your blood type and upgrade your internal organs to be better able to digest veggies and get the nutrients from them.

I remember as a child seeing my first butchered cow, and I was young enough that I don't think I fully understood it, but I did learn that it was a part of our lives.

I also remember when I saw chickens butchered for the first time...and I do remember finding that to be a bit weird.

But my memory is filled with all the animals I loved...and all of my memories of the farm are wonderful ones. There truly is something special about farming and I am really glad I had those experiences. We never had much money, but we had everything we needed and there was a certain balance to life.

Don't forget folks, that plants are just as alive as animals, that they have the same cellular structure (plus a cell wall), and in fact have more complex DNA. Not to mention many plants are alive when you bite into their flesh!

I eat a minimal amount of meat because it is expensive and resource intensive, not because animals are a supposedly higher life form than 1000-year-old redwoods.

try some gimme lean, it's fake sausage, made from soy, that's really tasty when fried in a little olive oil.

the first 2 weeks are the hardest when going vegetarian. if you can make it past that it gets really easy. you start to lose some weight and your body feels so much healthier. like ashleigh said ask for no meat on your pasta, salad, etc when you go out. and when making your recipies, just either leave out the meat or substitute it. bacon was one of the hardest for me too, so don't feel bad!

now for barbque it's a little harder to find recipes, but there's a sloppy joe recipe you can try. take a box of boca ground meat, some onions, celery, and mushrooms. cook in a pan, add some barbque sauce and put on a bun. hopefully this helps!

p.s. organic meat comes from animals that a lot of times are treated just like all the other factory farm animals, so do your research!

Fake Bacon is really awesome and really easy to make! First, get some tempeh, unflavored and in a block is probably the cheapest. Slice into bacon thin strips. Add enough soy sauce to saturate the tempeh. Sprinkle garlic salt, curry powder, and fresh ground pepper over tempeh. Heat up a griddle or frying pan and add some butter. Fry both sides until crispy. Seriously, delicious. I recommond BLTA(vocado)s with your new fake bacon.

I keep hearing comments about how "difficult" it is to be Veg*n. I decided to go Vegan in under a minute of serious consideration and never looked back. I even came to value value life so much as to be mistaken for a Buddhist monk (I'm Agnostic tho. Who says you need God to be moral?). Before you assume that I have some advantage like affluence or resources, consider that I'm 17 and "my" household is flesh eater's territory. I am hungry sometimes. However, not one day has passed since that day when I wasn't happy. Nothing is more satisfying than knowing that nothing need die so that I mat live.

Meat is sustainable. The whole idea of sustainable slavery is what I feared would happen within the sustainability movement. Many people have maintained anthropocentric views, even while adopting more ecologically sound lifestyles. Human-centeredness is common even among environmentalists. Just think about it. You're justifying murder...and for what? It's not like people in developed nations NEED to ingest flesh. It's just a bad, murderous habit.

Off the rant, being Vegan is easy. Maybe it has something to do with living in a major city (Philadelphia), but I must say that it's pretty easy and enjoyable to be Vegan. Just yesterday, I found soy ribs in a college cafeteria. They were absolutely DELICIOUS. I had to scrutinize it to make sure it wasn't real meat. There's a substitute for everything, so I think many claims of the high difficulty
of being Vegan, especially in America,are WAY exaggerated.

Just visit:

GoVeg.com

Justice and Peace, friends.

I have also been making the big effort to reduce my meat intake and totally agree with you about bacon. I have replaced meat dishes with rice and bean dishes (together, rice and beans make a complete protein). I have also discovered the wonderful world of lentils. One quarter cup of dry lentils gives you 10 grams of protein and 11 grams of fiber. With both of these dishes, I use vegetables/herbs/spices to flavor. Lentils I will make into soups or stews. Use a vegetable stock instead of water for more flavor. Mirepoix is your best friend. Another source of protein are nuts. For recipes, google vegetarian recipes and you will find many helpful sites.

I applaud your efforts to become a vegetarian, but whether or not eating meat is sustainable isn't the only question - it's whether or not an animal should die to satisfy your fleeting cravings. Maybe you could treat yourself to something else each time you successfully resist the urge? When I first became a vegetarian, I found it helpful to put myself in the animal's place. Compassion works like a charm!

Everything we read on Treehugger is about change. We are updated on new technology, new ways of thinking, and new companies.
I read Treehugger to keep updated and mainly, to improve myself. So, I've become vegan for several reasons: health, budget, and... to help the environment.
I've grown up on meat. I'm used to it. Of course, it's hard to give it up. I haven't for 4 months now. But that's part of it - temptation is supposed to lure you. You have to know why you're doing what you're doing to keep going strong. You have to have a strong will.
Compare this to another sacrifice that you now have to make. Diet. Relationships. Job.
If you want to do the right thing, then do it. If you fail, then get back to it. It's all about what you do now.

I took a gradual approach to becoming vegetarian. I first gave up red meat, then about six months later phased out chicken, and finally left fish behind in another six months. There are times when I smell meat grilling or long for seafood that I am tempted, but I am stopped by picturing how that animal died to become my food, or by the fact that I've gone so long without meat that if I do unintentionally eat some it makes me feel nauseous.

I find that Quorn makes the most amazing vegetarian chicken products (my non-vegetarian friends actually prefer their chicken nuggets to the real thing), and I use Yves Meatless Ground as a ground beef substitute in pasta sauces, Mexican food (just add seasonings), and casseroles. The only substitutes that I have been disappointed with are the pork products, as I have been unable to find a palatable vegetarian hot dog.

CrunchyCaptalist, you can not call yourself a vegan if you consume flesh, eggs, and milk. Even if it's only once a year, you're not a vegan.

Joe, check out http://www.jtcwd.com/vegie/plant_or_meat_eaters.html
it will actually show that humans are closer to herbivores, anatomically, than carnivores.

Personally, I do not support an industry that causes so much suffering and consumes so much land, water, and other natural resources. Not to mention factory farms create so much waste and land-based pollution. Just look at all the spinach and other vegetable recalls. The microorganisms were transmitted by the animal waste washed from the farms.