Lent, meat and planet

Ben sm

Monday, 04 March 2019

Lent is upon us, this coming Wednesday, 06 March. In our Eco-Aware Age, and with the Call of Pope Francis, in Laudato Si, for us to grow in our Ecological Conversion, what can I do to make a difference? One way is to eat less meat, or go without it for a selected number of days. Global Catholic Climate Movement - https://catholicclimatemovement.global/lent-2019/ tells us that according to Yale University and other experts, cattle ranching accounts for approximately 80% of deforestation in Brazil. Cattle ranchers cut down the forest–often illegally, and often by taking it from indigenous people–in order to graze cattle.

Sources of deforestation in Brazil:

Australian beef sausages and bacon

Roasted berbere vegetables and chickpeas by Yotam Ottolenghi

Potato gnocchi in sage butter by Anna Jones

Scientists evaluated scores of studies from around the world to estimate the amount of greenhouse gas emissions per serving of food. The average serving of meat represents greenhouse gas emissions more than 60 times bigger than the average serving of fruits, vegetables, and cereals.

Our commitment to add plant-based meals to our diet during Lent honors our Catholic heritage. As Catholics, we fast from meat on Fridays during the Lenten season. We're invited to deepen our practice by adding one more day each week, or striving to eat plant-based meals throughout the season.

Make the commitment This practice deepens our spirits during the season of Lent, when we find simplicity and humility with Christ. It also helps us sustainably inhabit our common home, protecting creation and standing in solidarity our brothers and sisters around the world, especially our poorer ones, many of whom only rarely have the opportunity to eat meat.

We can find many non-meat nourishing recipies to help us: eg: https://www.theguardian.com/food/2018/dec/21/vegetarian-vegan-recipes-roasted-vegetables-potato-gnocchi

For further reading: Why eating less meat is the best thing you can do for the planet in 2019 https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/dec/21/lifestyle-change-eat-less-meat-climate-change?CMP=share_btn_link

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Ben sm

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Comments 2

Guest - Paul Frechette on Monday, 04 March 2019 20:55

Marist College
815 Varnum St, N.E.

Guest - Paul Frechette sm on Tuesday, 05 March 2019 08:40

This blog topic comes to us at a most appropriate time: Ash Wednesday and Lent! I love the title: Lent, meat, and planet. What can we do to make a difference? The Global Catholic Climate Movement and Laudate Si of Pope Francis suggest we can eat less meat, or go without if for a selected number of days. Many developing countries have little access to meat, as it is too expensive. I recall my seven years in Peru and how much I learned that the lifestyle of the Northern and Western countries is not the way of most of the world's population. There is very little red meat nor dairy products in Peru. We used powdered milk from the ambassador of New Zealand at the seminary. We ate lots of rice and chicken and is a port city, lots of fish, especially cebiche (sushi in Japan), and it was all delicious. The red meat was imported from Argentina or Chile, but beyond our budget for 24 seminarians! And the same at restaurants, the prices were beyond our means. So the next 40 days are another opportunity for us to practice not eating meat (besides Friday during Lent) or for the stout-hearted striving to eat plant-based meals through the season! Courage confreres and friends!

Rev. Paul Frechette, SM
Provincial
Society of Mary, U.S. Province
815 Varnum St., NE
Washington, DC 20017-2199
Phone: 202-529-2821
pfrechette@maristsociety.org

This blog topic comes to us at a most appropriate time: Ash Wednesday and Lent! I love the title: Lent, meat, and planet. What can we do to make a difference? The Global Catholic Climate Movement and Laudate Si of Pope Francis suggest we can eat less meat, or go without if for a selected number of days. Many developing countries have little access to meat, as it is too expensive. I recall my seven years in Peru and how much I learned that the lifestyle of the Northern and Western countries is not the way of most of the world's population. There is very little red meat nor dairy products in Peru. We used powdered milk from the ambassador of New Zealand at the seminary. We ate lots of rice and chicken and is a port city, lots of fish, especially cebiche (sushi in Japan), and it was all delicious. The red meat was imported from Argentina or Chile, but beyond our budget for 24 seminarians! And the same at restaurants, the prices were beyond our means. So the next 40 days are another opportunity for us to practice not eating meat  (besides Friday during Lent) or for the stout-hearted striving to eat plant-based meals through the season!  Courage confreres and friends!

Rev. Paul Frechette, SM
Provincial
Society of Mary, U.S. Province
815 Varnum St., NE
Washington, DC 20017-2199
Phone: 202-529-2821
pfrechette@maristsociety.org

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