… for a week
So a couple of us from the liveeco team decided with the launch of Cape Town´s meat-free day project, that we as Capetonians, would try and eat “meat free” for a week to see how we would survive. Now while none of us are huge red meat eaters, more poultry than anything else, we still struggled with the challenge and not for the reasons you may think. Our biggest stumbling block was the expense of eating a vegetarian let alone vegan diet. While meat is not all that cheap, in order to get your daily protein allowance you find yourself replacing the meat you consume in your regular diet with rather pricey protein substitutes such as cheese, soy and beans (which also tend to leave you a little bloated).
Another hurdle was trying to keep inventing interesting, tasty meals night after night. Breakfast and lunch were a breeze but dinner time became more challenging as the days wore on. As in most “boerewors en braaivleis” loving South African households, I don´t own a recipe book which focuses solely on vegetarian meals so I turned to the internet to gather ideas. With the web, you often don´t really know what you are going to end up at the end of the day but most of the meals I tried actually turned out pretty well with small alterations here and there.
Which brings me back to the point of the challenge. In order for Cape Town´s initiative (which is to get our nation to eat less meat) to get off the ground, it needs to be affordable and attainable to the majority of the population. While eating organic is the better and preferred choice, it is sadly unaffordable to most South Africans. My feeling is that if the government is serious about this movement they should be offering subsidies to those farmers who do farm organically and sustainably so that their produce can be made affordable to more consumers. Surely if meat-free dishes were more economical to the average household, they would consume less meat and more fruit and veg, provided the fruit and veg are sold at a reasonable price.
In South Africa we are spoilt for choice when it comes to local fruit and veg because of our diverse climate and yet certain foods are still exorbitantly expensive. Take strawberries for instance, an excellent source of Vitamin C and antioxidants, even in season they are considered a luxury. Surely this is just wrong for a country like SA, where with our current AIDS epidemic we need our population to be healthy and should be making it easier for them to make better choices, not just for their own health but also for the health of our country and our planet.
What are your thoughts… do you find eating meat-free dishes an expensive alternative? Let us know in the comments section below.
Nics
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