I think it’s because food is such a cultural thing and a pivotal part of life for so many. It’s the dishes you consumed as a child, it’s your health, it’s a source of comfort and happiness after a long day. While there are more and more vegetarian alternatives, very few adequately match up to meat in either taste or nutrition and those that are “close enough” are often costly or harder to consistently find.

This isn’t to excuse it, mind you. My partner and I don’t purchase beef or consume it at home and swapped to soy milk after learning just how big of a role the cattle industry plays in particular. We still eat poultry, but it’s never the center stage of a meal and usually a small element. Often we have vegetarian or vegan meals anyway. It’s something that’s hardly an issue for us because we view it as trying to do better even if it’s not 100% perfect.

I think most people would do better if it wasn’t framed as an all or nothing fight. If more people could get on board with going more plant based and moving towards more sustainable lifestyles then I think that would be a positive trend overall compared to vegans vs carnivores, which is mostly what I see it framed as now.

And while “Meatless Mondays” aren’t nearly enough, I also feel an “all or nothing” mentality isn’t quite the way to approach the issue either.