Plant Chat: Marta Zaraska
I’m so glad to have Marta Zaraska, a freelance science journalist and travel writer, on my blog today! Marta’s work has been published in the Washington Post, Scientific American, the Boston Globe, and the National Geographic Traveler, and she is the author of two literary novels and a contributor to two travel books published by the National Geographic. Marta’s fascinating new book, “Meathooked: The History and Science of Our 2.5-Million-Year Obsession With Meat,” was published in February 2016 by Basic Books, and chosen by the journal Nature as one of “the best science picks” in March 2016. To learn more about her interesting work in the plant-based world, keep reading!
What got you interested in investigating America’s meat cravings?
Not just America’s, but humanity’s in general. Most people on this planet share those cravings, even if they may have them for different reasons. But to go back to your question: I think I was trying – at least at first – to solve the puzzle of my own meat cravings. I’ve been a kind-of vegetarian for 11 years now. Or rather “pescatarian” since I still eat fish (that’s out of laziness – I live in rural France and if I want to go to a restaurant with my friends and family, eating fish is basically the only way to go – there is almost never anything vegetarian on the menu). But even though I have been off red meat for that 11 years, I still crave it. Fry some bacon around me and I’ll have to try really hard not to take a bite. And sometimes I do take that bite (usually when no one can see me). Maybe I eat total of 3 oz of meat per year, but I still do that, even though I believe it’s bad for my health, the planet, and the animals. So why do I do it? Why the cravings? Why are my taste buds betraying me? And it’s not just me, of course. In US surveys show that about 40 percent of people are trying to cut down on meat. In other countries, like Germany, these numbers are even higher. And yet the overall meat consumption is only going up, even in US. So these 40 percent of people quite likely are not exactly succeeding. There is something about meat that makes it a very difficult food to give up. And yet, when you think about the fact that meat eating contributes to climate change more than all passenger cars and planes combined, it’s clear that we should reduce our consumption, and do it fast.
Why do Americans love meat so much?
That’s going to be hard to answer in just a few sentences – after all I had to write a whole book to answer that particular question! Basically it boils down to genetics (some of us have genes that make it a bit harder to give up meat), to the particular, unique flavors of meat (which are a mixture of fat, umami taste and scents created in something called the Maillard reaction), the advertising and lobbying of the powerful meat industry, with its annual sales higher than the GDP of Hungary or Ukraine, and, last but definitely not least, the symbolism of meat. Beginning 2.5 million years ago when our hominin ancestors began eating meat, meat started to symbolize power, wealth, and masculinity – symbolism that carries on to this day in our culture. But there are plenty of other, smaller yet no less important reasons for why we love meat. Take nutrition in pregnancy, for example. Studies show that flavors of the foods mothers eat sip into their amniotic fluid. If a mom-to-be eats a lot of carrots in pregnancy, her kids will love carrots later on. If she eats anise seed, her child will enjoy that unique flavor, too. And if she likes meat, quite likely her children will be hooked on it as well.
What is different about our feelings about meat compared to other cultures, who eat far less of it?
India is of course the prime example of a country where people eat far less meat. Poultry consumption in India in 2012 was just about 6 pounds per person per year. In US, it was a staggering 96.8 pounds. But on the other hand, that poultry consumption is climbing like crazy in India – it went to that 6 pounds per person per year from just 1.7 pounds per capita annually – that’s 3.5 times in a bit over a decade. And by 2030 poultry consumption in India’s sprawling cities is projected to shoot up from 2000 levels by 1,277 percent! India is getting hooked on meat, fast. And one of the main reasons for that is once again cultural. The young Indian urbanites want to emulate our Western culture, and big part of that culture is eating meat. Meat symbolizes not just wealth for them, but also modernity.
Do you think that things are changing regarding our intake of meat? Studies show we are reducing our red meat intake now.
Not really. What they show is that we are trying to cut down on meat, but so far it’s not going very well. If you look at the statistics, meat consumption was indeed dropping in US since 2004 till 2012, but has been climbing ever since. It’s projected to be 213 pounds per person per year in 2016 – that’s about the same as in 2008, and far more than we’ve been eating, say, in the 1990s.
What are the benefits of cutting back on meat?
Plenty! First of all, for your health. Studies show, for example, that the vegetarian Seventh-day Adventists in California live on average 9.5 (men) and 6.1 (women) years longer than other Californians. Then there is the planet. Each burger contributes as much to global warming as driving an average American car for 320 miles. If we all switched to vegetarian, our climate woes maybe wouldn’t exactly be solved, but we’d get plenty of extra time to come up with renewable energy sources. It could basically solve our problems. And, of course, there is the ethical side. Every day in the US, 24 million farm animals go for slaughter.
What are your favorite tips for cutting back on meat for people who want to start moving more towards a plant-based diet?
Don’t go too hard on yourself. You can go “reducetarian” – reduce your meat consumption – instead. You can either reduce by 5%, 50%, 99% – it’s up to you. But it’s good to start somewhere. You don’t have to be 100% perfect. You can still eat that Thanksgiving turkey, for example. Dietary purity is hard, and often just scares people away from trying plant-based diets. Also, reward yourself. After a vegetarian meal, finish with your favorite dessert (ice cream? Chocolate?) – our brains are so wired that they’ll connect the pleasure of the dessert with the main meal, and you will find yourself enjoying vegetarian eating more as a result. Another thing is to take cooking classes – the main reason why people give up vegetarianism is that they simply lack cooking skills and knowledge. There are plenty of other methods, of course – which I mention in my book, Meathooked.
What are your favorite recipes and foods?
Have to say I love cooking Indian food – Indian cuisine is basically created for vegetarianism! And for those who are looking for meat replacements, I can’t recommend enough products by the Dutch company Vegetarian Butcher. Still can’t believe that’s not meat. Check out the website here.