The Earth, Oprah, and Meat

Okay I have to admit, I love Oprah. I do. I know, lovely, but what does she have to do with food. I will get there, just give me a moment. I don’t get to watch her that often…kids you know… but I had taped her Earth Day program. Sadly last week I finally got a moment to put in on.

Egad. I will admit fully I am not a crazy environmentalist (not that being an environmentalist is crazy). I would rather categorize myself as a lazy or rather haphazard environmentalist. I don’t’ use any pesticides and only natural fertilizer (worm poo, banana peel). That is more a product of laziness and cheapness than anything. The fact that I also believe it is best for mother earth is a secondary factor. Most of my environmental “choices” are like that.

So then I watch Oprah. Egad. And it brings me to why I love her so much. She has a great ability to shape behavior and she uses it to the best of her ability. I always forget those stupid reusable bags when I go to the store, ALWAYS. Makes me crazy. Since watching her Earth Day show, I have not forgotten, not once. There is now a plastic bag ban in my household. Egad.

She had Michael Pollan on the show. He talked about the carbon footprint of food. Who knew? And then he says something that astounds me. If every family in the U.S. would eat one meatless meal a week….just one, it would be the same as taking 20 million mid sized sedans off of the road. Are you kidding me?

The reality is, for my family that is no big deal we love veggies. What better time of the year to give this a whirl than when everything is fresh and wonderful! Last week, with the exception of two days was all vegetarian. We started the week with grilled eggplant, mushrooms, corn , onions, and some sliced tomatoes. The leftovers of this got chopped and turned into a pasta sauce that was righteous (and the kids loved). Then one day it was corn and sliced tomatoes. Yum.

So, what does this all mean. No, I am not going vegetarian. However, I am encouraging you all to give it a whirl one meal a week. Come on, a little eggplant parm, can’t be so bad! :)

Finally, I have not been great at keeping up with my blog of late, but I am going to try to get two posts in a week. There is a poll to the side, please vote for what content you would most like to see most and I will try and get my rear in gear!