Summertime isn’t over yet. We need to keep our barbecues rolling while we still can!

There really is nothing quite like a grilled steak on a hot summer night.

Granted, most of the time, I try not to eat meat. Blame it on Michael Pollan. Blame it on Food Inc.. Blame it on Cowschwitz, the freaky smelling cattle processing plant near Coalinga, California. Then again, if I know that it comes from Marin Sun Farms, hey, I’ll eat that flank steak!

So, while I’m not one to promote eating meat, I do think it’s perfectly reasonable to enjoy an occasional steak, as long as you know it’s from a quality, sustainable source. If you’re not sure what meat to buy in your region, check out Eat Well, a directory for locally grown and sustainably produced food, or Eat Wild to find a pasture-based farm near you.

And now, onto the marinade magic!

I prescribe to the “simple is best” philosophy. Here are three easy options that can’t fail you.

Most often I salt and pepper any steak before marinating it. (In the case of a rub, that goes without saying!) Steak can marinate overnight in the refrigerator or one to two hours at room temperature. If you refrigerate the steak, it’s always best to let it come to room temperature before throwing it on the “˜que. Flank steak is a personal favorite when cooking for a crowd.

1. Ginger and garlic

• 1/4 cup canola oil

• 1/4 soy sauce

• 1 Tablespoon vinegar (any kind will do)

• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

• 2 garlic cloves minced

• 1 Tablespoon fresh, minced ginger

Combine ingredients. Place steak and marinade in ziplock bag, and let the marinating begin.

2. Basic onion

• 1/2 cup canola oil

• 1/2-1 onion, chopped

• 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire

• splash of wine or beer or whatever you’re drinking

• kosher salt

• freshly ground pepper

Combine and marinate.

3. The Simple Rub:

Sometimes all you need is to rub the steak with some spices for the good times to roll. Try this incredibly simple rub.

• kosher salt

• freshly ground (coarse) pepper

• generous cumin

Rub meat generously with the above ingredients. Let meat rest for 10 minutes to two hours. Grill. Serve with chimichurri.

Image: Simon Aughton

The post Keep the Summer BBQ Stoked with 2 Smokin’ Steak Marinades and a Rub appeared first on EcoSalon.

Pets or meat? You decide.

According to The Guardian, baby bovines may be poised to be the next, er, small development in sustainable animal husbandry. Good for the environment, good for consumers, good for farmers, and local economies.

Evidently, cows were once more diminutive than today’s cows. This was back when farms were smaller and family run, particularly in Britain where small landholders were the norm. In the middle of the last century, U.S ranchers began breeding for fast growth and size, translating to larger cattle.

But smaller cows are greener cows. Here’s why: Smaller cows actually need less land and are more efficient at transforming feed into flesh. The breeder referenced in the Guardian article found that he could raise 10 mini cows on just five acres, which would only hold two average size cows. That translates to 6,000 pounds of beef versus 3,000 pounds. That’s a lot more burgers per hoof.

Not only that, but cow belches and flatulence emit methane, which is a potent greenhouse gas. Astonishingly, it takes 10 mini cows to produce the methane of just one larger cow.

In addition to the environmental benefits, certain traits of mini cattle make them a better product for today’s meat eaters. A faculty publication from The University of Nebraska, Lincoln, published in the 2008 Miniature Cattle: For Real, for Pets, for Production article by Dana W. R. Boden notes that mini cattle produce a more petite cut of meat – useful during these times of conscious meat reduction by environmental and health conscious consumers. However, proportionally, the best cuts from mini cattle are larger than in conventional cattle. For example, the rib-eye from a mini cow is 25-50 percent larger than in a full-size cow. So people who like steaks get more of what they like.

Another trend that points to the future success of tiny cattle is the rise in meat buying clubs and meat CSAS. Smaller animals make sense for families buying and freezing a whole animal. Larger cattle are just too much for most freezers and most family’s eating habits.

Back to the pets or meat question. Are people really raising these novelty animals for food? Another article on the subject notes that hobbyists are raising mini cattle for small-scale milk and meat production, but most are purchased as pets. An exotic possession for the well heeled? Perhaps. The mini cows are more expensive due to their rarity but prices should come down once the supply balances out.

Once prices drop the baby bovines could be a boon not just for the environment and consumers, but also for the less well-capitalized smallholder farms and farmers in urban spaces. According to the 2002 U.S. Census of Agriculture, the number of small farms has increased by over 46 percent since 1974. Among the small farm categories are retirement farms and residential/lifestyle farms. These are the types of operations that can support stronger regionalized and local food systems and the infrastructure that accompanies them, as well as feed the public hunger for locally produced food.

First we’ll need some work on the legal side of things. Thus far, chickens and rabbits are legal in many cities (with restrictions) and small goats are becoming more commonly accepted, but as far as I’ve been able to find out, cows (however tiny) are prohibited most everywhere urban or suburban. If you believe, as I do, that the blokes across the pond are way ahead of us in most things environmental and forward thinking, we have some good news from that quarter. Plans are ahoof in Bristol (England’s 6^th most populous city) to graze a herd of cattle on a 200 acre park parcel. The meat will be used for local schools. According to an earlier article on the subject, the plan is not “about using local businesses and suppliers, but creating a more localized supply and trading network that benefits and involves businesses and citizens of Bristol.”

The plan is also to increase public use and enjoyment of parklands. According to one Councilor, “[the cows] are rather more attractive than the average lawnmower, and use less diesel.”

This is the latest installment in Vanessa Barrington’s weekly column, The Green Plate, on the environmental, social, and political issues related to what and how we eat.

Image: JoePyreks

The post Cute Mignon: It’s What’s for Dinner appeared first on EcoSalon.

Hahn Niman became a vegetarian in college but later married rancher Bill Niman. She is the author of the book Righteous Porkchop, which discusses the differences between small-scale, environmentally responsible animal husbandry and factory farming. Though she believes that eating meat can be ethically and environmentally defensible, she chooses to remain a vegetarian.

Lyman is a former large-scale rancher whose come-to-vegan moment came in the form of a near-fatal spinal tumor that doctors told him was caused by the chemicals used in farming. His conversion and the publication of his book, Mad Cowboy, got him on Oprah and got Oprah into trouble with the Cattlemen’s Beef Association when she mentioned in the interview that the news about Mad Cow Disease might just put her off her hamburgers. EcoSalon attended the debate which was sponsored by Earth Island Journal and moderated by Ari Durfel, founder of Gather Restaurant (also known as the guy who kept his trash in his living room for a year.)

The first question was: What are the environmental reasons to be vegetarian?

Predictably, both participants agree that factory farming is absolutely the worst thing for the environment, as well as for human and animal health. But they answer the question differently. Both experts touch on meat production as a major cause of global warming. Lyman focuses on the term humane meat, asking if killing can be humane and asserting that the only reason we eat meat is because we have an addiction to fat.

Hahn Niman focuses on the facts behind meat production and global warming, citing the often quoted statistic that 18 percent of global warming gasses come from meat production. But, she asserts, “nearly half this from deforestation in developing world and very little of that meat is going to USA. In the USA we are not deforesting at all for meat production.” Hahn Niman goes on to say that livestock production, when done correctly, can actually build soils and contribute to reforestation while also providing valuable fertilizer for agriculture.

“Both of you agree large scale CAFO farming is not okay. Is there a certain scale that you could be comfortable with? Or is general livestock across board wrong?

Acknowledging briefly that of course there is a way to farm better, Lyman stays focused on individual consumer actions rather than farming practices, asserting that there is no way a person can live in an urban area like Berkeley, eat meat and benefit the environment. “Unless you’re willing to raise and kill own meat, no way can you have anything but a negative effect”.

Hahn Niman makes the point that talking about avoiding meat is a false choice because all food production contributes to global warming through carbon, methane, and nitrous oxide omissions. She also mentions that certain non-meat items have a larger carbon footprint than certain meat items. Hahn Niman then reverts to Niman Ranch talking points, asserting that at Niman Ranch, 99 percent of diet is naturally growing/occurring grains and grasses produced by the sun without irrigation feed, or chemicals. When animals eat this basically free food, they become nutritious food for humans. She adds that 85 percent of land in the USA isn’t suitable to row farming of grains and vegetables and ends with the question, “If it’s not meat, what is the appropriate use of land for best impact?”

The next question focused on the ethics of eating meat.

The fact that Hahn Niman is a vegetarian who believes meat eating is a personal and ethical choice puts her in an interesting position and illustrates how stickily personal questions of ethics can be. She raises animals and bonds with them. She is a rancher who has no ethical problem with killing animals, but evidently has a personal problem with it. Perhaps she just doesn’t like meat, but she never says so. She does say that she believes the human body has evolved to eat meat and that our brains developed because of it. She emphasizes that as animals, we are part of the system of living, dying, and regenerating.

Lyman takes issue with Hahn Niman’s assertion that we evolved to eat meat, saying that we were designed to be herbivores and that animals have feelings and the capacity for love. He says if we don’t have to eat animals to survive, how can we kill them? Are we willing to do it ourselves, or would we rather have someone else do it? He says that eating animals is just feeding our addiction and it is wrong.

Hahn Niman vehemently disagrees that human beings evolved to be herbivores, adding that raising animals for food doesn’t mean you don’t care or don’t think animals have feelings. She says death by humane slaughter is better than violent or slow death in the wild (a bit of red herring, if you ask me). For her, the biggest question is how the meat is produced and the answer is that an omnivorous diet can be sustainable.

The moderator asks Howard, whether or not we were designed to eat meat, do we have to eat meat?

Howard throws out his own red herring, saying, “If we’re true omnivores why aren’t we eating our cats and dogs?” Then he says he supports small-scale farms doing it better but does not think animals are necessary for his survival, though he’s not convinced everyone has to become a vegan.

Hahn Niman counters that omnivore doesn’t mean you eat everything. “We make choices. But studies show omnivorous diet gives you survival and immune advantages – just avoiding meat as a category when some things are worse than meat for the environment is not a reasonable response.”

During the audience question period both speakers had an opportunity to offer real-world tips on how to eat better for the environment and also a perspective about why the factory-farming model exists in the first place.

Hahn Niman says to minimize footprint, you should get dairy and meat from grass-fed sources. Such foods have a lower footprint, are healthier, tastier, and are almost never fed drugs. Unprocessed, fresh, whole foods close to harvest are always good choices, as is eating seasonally. “Applying all these values to all of what you eat, whether meat, vegan or vegetarian, is going to be more environmentally sound and healthier.”

Lyman says the best thing a person can do is to spend some time thinking about what you actually like and what you actually want to eat for your life. Do research, start with small steps. Try Meatless Monday. “Look at issue honestly and ask what you are truly able and willing to do. And ask what you must do for posterity.”

One member of the audience asks: “How on earth could we farm enough meat sustainably to actually make it mainstream for world? Could we convert animal agriculture entirely to pasture?”

Hahn Niman says yes; “You could absolutely do that if western cultures reduced consumption modestly. I’m a huge advocate of reduced meat consumption – I support meatless Monday. But abolishing totally is not a good idea.”

Lyman says, “If we wanted to talk about viability of doing things right, we have to price it according to the value of inputs going in. We would have to remove those subsidies [going to CAFO producers]. We would have people driving up to McDonald’s and having to pay eight dollars for a burger. Niman isn’t available everywhere and isn’t affordable for most. And Niman can’t make enough profit to expand. People with the gold are gaming the system. It is rigged.”

What do you think? Can you be an environmentalist and eat any meat, even “sustainably raised” meat?

This is the latest installment in Vanessa Barrington’s weekly column, The Green Plate, on the environmental, social, and political issues related to what and how we eat.

Image: Laurel Fan

The post Can You Be an Environmentalist and Still Eat Meat? appeared first on EcoSalon.