How a mere 12% of Americans eat half the nation's beef, creating significant health and environmenta

[hunter]

8. Anecdotal, I know, but it seems consistent with my observations of family and freinds.

Let's call it a sample size of fifty.

One of my brothers and my dad are meat-every-day types, mostly beef. My brother is an extraordinarily talented cook and has no problem cooking vegetarian and vegan meals. Beef is not a religion with him, but it does reflect our family's heritage as ranchers and dairymen. (One of my grandfathers would have been a beef evangelist, same as some of my parent's cousins.)

My wife is vegetarian approaching vegan. It's not a religion with her either. She's not telling other people what to eat. I'll eat beef but I'm too lazy to prepare it for myself in daily life. I can't remember the last time there was meat in our refrigerator. It was probably for a holiday meal, pre-covid19 when I was cooking for guests. Sometimes I'll buy meat substitutes for certain recipes.

Personally, I don't believe cheap milk and ground beef are necessities. I think these industries ought to be regulated to reduce their environmental footprints, improve conditions for their workers, and treat animals more humanely, even if it raises costs.

BTW, our local McDonald's and Burger Kings serve meat substitute hamburgers. I look forward to a time when vegetarian fast food hamburgers are the more popular selection because they cost less and most people prefer the flavor.