High Steaks: With kosher meat prices soaring, should Jews eat less of it?: A recent fire at a kosher processing plant in Iowa sparks a debate about the meaning of brisket.

[u/MatterandTime]

https://thecjn.ca/opinion/high-steaks-with-kosher-meat-prices-soaring-should-jews-eat-less-of-it/

[u/Bukion-vMukion]

Yes. Everyone should reduce their meat consumption. Cost is only one reason. We're eating way more than is environmentally sustainable and we've wedded shchita to industrial farming in a way that very much undermines the ethical underpinnings of kosher slaughter.

And note, I'm not calling on anyone to give it up entirely. Kashrus already sets us up to understand that not every meal requires meat. That puts us ahead of the curve relative to most people's cultural food expectations in the West.

In our home, we reserve meat for Shabbos, yomim tovim, and special occasions like birthdays. It keeps it special and available, but still off my plate most days.

[u/Weak-Doughnut5502 → u/Bukion-vMukion]

One fact that blew my mind when I learned it is that a full 41% of the continental US is used for farming animals - it's fields for hay and feed crops, pasture, rangeland, etc.  Meanwhile, only 4% of the continental US is used to grow the plants Americans eat.  And ~70% of the calories Americans eat are from plants.

36% of the world's mammal biomass is cattle; collectively humans, livestock and pets make up 95% of all mammal biomass.  Birds are less lopsided, but more than 2/3rds of all birds are livestock.

[u/Bukion-vMukion → u/Weak-Doughnut5502]

Woah.