Inspired by Selina Juul

Selina Juul is a Danish food-waste activist. She grew up in Russia, where full shelves in supermarkets  was more of a luxury than something you could take for granted. When she moved to Denmark, she was shocked at how many people just threw the food their parents made for them away to then go to buy a burger at McDonalds. Since then, she has founded the organisation Stop Wasting Food and helped Denmark reduced its food waste with 25% from 2010 to 2015. In collaboration with Danish supermarket REMA 1000, Juul has put a stop to discounts like ‘3 for 1’, and that inspired me to think about discounts and deals in our supermarkets. I think an easy way to reduce our meat consumption and with that waste, is to not put any discount on deals anymore. When you see meat is on discount, or there’s a nice deal, you’re more likely to buy it than when it’s not. Now, I’m certainly not an expert on economics or marketing, but I think this could work. Not promoting meat anymore but rather promoting vegetarian and vegan products would have huge effects on the meat industry. You can’t expect the average consumer to just completely cut meat from their daily lives, but we should try to work towards it being a social norm to not eat meat.

By Anna

Vegetarianism as a way to save the earth

Often when you ask someone why they’re vegetarian they’ll say they feel so sorry for the animals, they think we should stop eating meat because in their eyes, killing animals for food is never ethically correct. Although I don’t exactly enjoy the idea of slaughtering ‘innocent’ animals, I’m not opposed to it either: it’s just part of nature, killing other animals to keep yourself alive. Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not against vegetarianism, I actually think more people should stop eating meat, but for a different reason: meat production is killing our planet.

When we talk about climate change and how to save the environment, you will most likely think about deforestation, emission and the melting ice caps, but almost no one seems to notice the problem laying right in front of us: our meat consumption. The produce of meat, especially beef, has a huge impact on our environment. Agriculture causes 15% of all CO2 emissions, half of which are from livestock.

Many people do want to help the environment, but don’t have any idea how to do so or think it’s too much effort for something you won’t immediately see big results for. Reducing or completely putting a stop to your meat consumption is the easiest way to solve a huge problem. But what if I do not want to stop eating meat? Make some rules with yourself. Don’t eat meat one week a month, or cut out lunch meats. When you reduce your meat consumption step by step, you’ll notice it’s not necessary to eat meat every single day. If you get your family to lessen their meat consumption as well, you’re part of making a huge impact already.

By Anna

Five ways to reduce your meat consumption

The range of meat substitute products is growing every year, because more and more people every day are becoming aware of the negative effects the meat industry has on the environment. In this article we list five steps you can take to reduce your meat consumption.  

1. Buy less meat, more meat substitute

Although almost everybody loves a nice hamburger, few have ever tasted a meatless burger, for example bean, cheese, mushroom or beetroot burger. These and others are very tasty options if you want to try something new besides the old-fashioned burger you (probably) always eat.  You can also replace the meat you usually put on your sandwich with just as tasty vegetarian options such as vegetarian filet americain, vegetarian cold cuts, or vegetarian patés. Companies including Garden Gourmet and de Vegetarische Slager have a wide range of those products.

2. Explore the vegetarian world, try new recipes

It’s good for everybody to have a diverse diet where you get enough essential nutrients, as displayed in the food pyramid. The food pyramid stresses among other things that we need to eat vegetables, fruit and bread to live a long and healthy lifestyle. And although meat contains the vital vitamin B12, you can also find this particular vitamin in other animal products such as eggs, milk and fish. You can also choose to cut animal products out of your diet entirely, and just take pills as supplement

3. Plan your meals

When you plan your meals ahead and buy everything you need in one or two shopping sprees a week, you become less tempted to buy anything (extra) with meat in it, because you already have everything you need at home. Another benefit from this method is that you spend less money on food, and that you don’t have to throw away expired food that you didn’t eat because you bought too much.

4. Go meat-free three days a week

Even if you don’t want to become a vegetarian, there are still ways to help the environment by eating less meat than you are now. Going meat-free for just three days a week is an easy way to reduce your meat consumption without having to change your entire eating pattern. Even by eating vegetarian for only three days a week you reduce your meat footprint.

5. Eat smaller portions

This is not only good for the environment, but also good for your own health! Since 50% of the Dutch population over 20 years old is overweight (source: CBS ), it would be good for most of us to reduce the amount of food we eat. One way to lower your weight is by cutting down the sizes of our portions, which for the majority includes meat. One tip from me: eat from smaller plates! this is a helpful psychological trick to make you think you are eating more because your small plate is easier full than your big plate, and you are less likely to fill your plate a second time.

By Maite Koppers

Vegetarian dishes and sweets

Nowadays a lot of people become vegetarian for many reasons like health, animal welfare or because they’re worried about the use of antibiotics. Becoming vegetarian doesn’t have to mean eating grass and hay only, like people seem to think. Vegetarians can still eat things like eggs and dairy products. With that being said, here are some delicious dishes for vegetarians and people trying to eat less meat.

                          Indian Spiced Black Bean and Tofu Burger

Everyone craves a good burger once in a while. For non-meat eaters, tofu can be a good alternative to beef and chicken patties, as it’s made of soybeans. It takes very little maintenance to make, and it can be a great meal for you and your guests. They are very easy to make, and you can add some goat cheese, garlic or even walnuts for some more flavour.

                                                    Chana Masala

Another Indian recipe is Chana Masala, a vegetarian chickpea curry. This spicy Indian dish is vegan and gluten free. It’s traditionally made with green chilies, onion, garlic, coriander, chickpeas, tomatoes and a few spices. It is easy to make, and you can even use the gravy with roti or plain basmati rice. If you’re going to make this dish, be sure to prep the ingredients in advance, as you’ll be making this dish faster than expected.

                                                 Vegetable lasagne

Everyone loves a good lasagne, whether it’s made with or without meat. It might not be the quickest meal to make, but it will satisfy your comfort food cravings. With this vegetarian lasagne dish, all you need are bell peppers, zucchini, carrots and spinach. You can also use other vegetables to suit your taste. Add some cottage cheese for more flavour, or you can skip this if you want it to be vegan.

                                          Vegetarian sweets

Unfortunately, being vegetarian means not only having to let go of gelatine-based candy, like gummy bears and marshmallows, but also candies containing red food dye. A lot of people use gelatine in chewy candies, which is made of the bones, skin and cartilage of animals. Also, many red candies contain a dye made from the extracts of dried bodies of the coccus cacti bugs, which are listed as carmine, cochineal or carminic acid in the ingredients list. Basically, food with gelatine and red dye is a BIG no-no for vegetarians. While it is almost impossible to make marshmallows without gelatine, there are recipes you CAN recreate with replacement ingredients, or you could even try something new alltogether.

                                                   Gummy Candy

Instead of using gelatine to make gummy candies, try agar or carrageenan. Both are made from seaweed and are vegetarian and vegan safe. To add sweetness and flavour to your gummies, you can use fruit juice, like strawberries or oranges, but try avoiding fruits like pineapple and mangoes, as their juice doesn’t mix well with the agar. You can also use vegetable juice if you want. Just blend these ingredients with water, boil them in a saucepan, pour them into pan, and refrigerate until it sets. Voilà! Vegetarian gummy bears!

                                                           Mochi

Tired of having brownies or pie as dessert? Try mixing it up with mochi! Mochi is a sweet Japanese rice cake that’s usually made from sweet rice which is cooked and pounded into a sticky and smooth paste. Mochi is usually filled with sweet soy sauce or red bean paste, but you can also use chocolate or strawberries. Mochi is actually very healthy for you, but that of course depends on what kind of filling you use. You can’t expect it to be super healthy when all you use is a chocolate filling. Try different kinds of fruit and see which one you like the most!

By Amaziah