You are probably thinking to yourself: “What does veg*n stand for?!” Veg*n is a term used to identify vegetarians or vegans. Being a vegetarian or vegan can not only be good for your wallet, but it is also awesome for the environment. You see, animals consume a lot of food and release a lot of um, gases. When you cut back on your meat consumption you help reduce your carbon footprint.

photo credit: Violette79

Another great point to reducing your meat intake is that you are freeing up food and resources for people. This is the logic- farmers grow corn or wheat to feed the animals. The animals not only eat that food that takes weeks to grow, but they are also drinking water and using land that could be used to grow other vegetables and crops to feed people. If we just ate more whole foods instead of meat, we would eliminate the resources to feed the animals and care for them.

I know that many people couldn’t go 100% vegetarian, and that’s fine. As long as you cut back, you’ll save money and help the environment.

Some good meat dish substitutes are:

-Beans and rice
-Vegetable lasagna
-Stir fry with vegetables
-Spaghetti with marinara sauce
-Salad with fun toppings!
-Bean burritos

Could you go veg*n? Do you limit your meat consumption to save money?

I’m kind of pissed off about the state of food in our country.  The FDA allows so much crap in our food that it’s ridiculous.  It’s near impossible to find food that doesn’t contain corn or soy.  Seriously.  Read your labels and you’ll find high fructose corn syrup, soybean oil, and dyes.  I think it’s ridiculous that there even has to be organic and conventional foods.  I think all food should be farmed organically.  Why should someone have to choose between organic lettuce and lettuce that has been sprayed with pesticides because they can’t afford the extra money for organics?

One of my biggest pet peeves with purchasing food is to see “natural flavors” on labels.  What the heck is “natural flavors”?  MSG (monosodium glutamate) can be considered a “natural flavor” and is something that is an excitotxin , which is dangerous to your health.  Why can’t the company just say what it is instead of calling it natural flavors?

I understand why organic food costs more.  It takes more time, energy, and effort to produce food organically.  Without the use of pesticides, there’s a greater chance the food will be eaten by pests.  I just hate the fact that everyone can’t afford organics because they are so expensive.  I think all people deserve access to good quality, healthy food.

I think food dyes are unnecessary and unhealthy.  Red 40 is banned in several countries in Europe, yet still continues to appear in the ingredient list of so many foods in the United States.

Soy wreaks havoc on hormones, yet is pretty much in everything in one way or another.  If you try to avoid it, chances are you’ll still encounter it in some way.  Those eggs you just consumed?  The chicken was fed a mixture of corn and soy.

I just think it’s really sad the crap that’s allowed in our food in the United States.  We all deserve healthy food that’s not going to give us disease.  I’m not saying we should all eat organic food 100% of the time because I know that’s not realistic, I’m just saying that we should all have access to affordable good food.

What do you think about the state of food in our country?  Is it getting better, or getting worse?