Sustainable Meat?  Nope!

     There's an old bumper sticker I saw that said, "Eat Like You Give A Damn!"  Never has that saying become more meaningful to me than now.  If 2013 was the year for Gays with laws being passed for marriage in more and more states including Hawaii (yeaaa); it's time for the "Inconvenient Truth" to come out of the closet (like Al Gore just did by becoming a vegan).  There's no such thing as "sustainable meat" (i.e., all animal products)!    

The word sustainable is being bandied around by the food industry like a drunkard with a prostitute.  It's sexy, but there's no meaning behind it.  I heard that sustainable means: "farm to table," "snout to tail," "grass-fed," "slow foods~uh suuulowwwwly going meatless," etc.  C'mon!  You either are or you aren't sustainable.  Calling eating grass-fed beef sustainable is like someone claiming to be healthy, smoking organic cigarettes.  Call it Locavore, or Snout to Tail...but don't call it sustainable, please. 

Last year when we were nominated as one of the top 5 sustainable restaurants in Hawaii, in the Nature's Conservancy contest, I wondered how the competition was even selected.  Picking the most sustainable restaurant should be done much like the James Beard Award is given, with high valuations.  It's not a popularity contest.  That was the beginning of my decision to make 2014 the year of sustainable agitation.  

What is the meaning of "sustainable?"  "Involving methods that do not completely use up or destroy natural resources."From the Free Merriam-Webster.

The Slow Food Movement announced their support of "Sustainable Meat" i.e., grass-fed meat; in their latest e-Newsletter.  Is there such a thing?   

Oscar-winning director, James Cameron announced that he had switched to a vegan diet because, "It's not a requirement to eat animals, we just choose to do it... so it'(s)...a moral choice and one that is having a huge impact on the planet and destroying the biosphere." (Examiner.com Vegan director James Cameron: You're not an environmentalist if you eat meat).  

The following points were made in the same article:

*(Grass-fed cattle) take up much more land and water because they take longer to grow (23 months versus 15 for corn-fed)... eight extra months of feed, of water, land use, and waste, according to Dr. Jude Capper, an assistant professor of dairy sciences at Washington State University.  "...that's like adding almost one car to the road for every single animal. That's a huge increase in carbon footprints."

*Jeff Anhang, and environmental adviser at the World Bank also takes issue with claims that 18% of the world's man-made greenhouse-gas emissions comes from livestock production, made by Steinfeld and Gerber, livestock specialists, of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).  In reality, that figure is closer to 51%, according to Anhang and his colleague, Robert Goodland, who retired as lead environmental adviser at the World Bank after 23 years. "FAO's new partners include the International Meat Secretariat and International Dairy Federation," said Goodland. 

*Pat LaFrieda, a third-generation meat wholesaler,...pointed out that all cows-even those labeled "grass-fed" -are grain-fed at some point.  He told Bloomberg. http://www.examiner.com/article/environmental-experts-grass-fed-beef-not-more-eco-friendly-than-grain-fed-beef Page 2 of 3 National Celebrity Fitness and Health | Examiner.com 1/5/14 

In response, grass-fed beef proponents have slammed grain/corn-fed advocates for failing to mention:

*the massive amounts of fossil fuels required to produce factory-farmed meat, including: 

*preparing farm land for corn production

*creating the chemical fertilizers & pesticides used in corn production

*harvesting, drying and storing the corn

*transporting the bulk corn (via rail, sea & road)

*processing the corn: milling, mixing, extruding, pelletizing; distributing the corn to individual farms.

    While the grass-fed-versus-factory-farmed debate rages on, one thing is clear, say some experts: Raising livestock for food is environmentally costly, and a plant-based diet is far better for the environment than a meat-centric one. Marc Reisner, former staff writer at the Natural Resources Defense Council, summed it up best when he wrote: "In California, the single biggest consumer of water... can be summed up in a single word: livestock."

    If all the land and all the water used for production of livestock and its feed were instead used for crops to feed humans directly, we could end world hunger, slow down global warming and escape the global water crisis.  Now, that's Sustainable!

I will be speaking (with a short demo)
about Sustainability at the   

April 8th, Tuesday, 7PM

Ala Wai Golf Course Clubhouse

April 10th, Thursday, 7PM

Maui-Cameron Center

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Valentine's Day Tapas Dinner

February 14, 2014, Friday~ 5-9 PM

Call For Reservations

Caesar Salad

Zucchini Unagi Cauli-Sushi Rice

Beet Ravioli

Crimini Escargot Skewers & Macadamia Nut "Butter"

Macadamia Nut Cheeze n Sliced Apples

Wicked Chocolate Tart

$50 Tapas

$12 Wine (4 Taster Glasses)

(Tax & tip not included.)

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Check out GreensAndVines.com

1) Restaurant Week Menu still Available.  We made it our Prix Fixe Menu.

2) "Holiday Plates" still Available.  (bowls or baskets depending on availability).  Try to give us a day (though we can do it faster depending on availability of the various things in it).