How America’s Diet Is Feeding the Groundwater Crisis

[macmars45]

Over the past 3-4 years H and I have almost completely replaced meat with meat substitutes or completely vegetarian options. Grocery Outlet has great options and good prices. We don't miss it. We ate beef for the first in at least two years on Christmas Eve and both our bodies revolted against us. So.

[fancynewbeesly]

Serious question but our household eats a ton of dairy. One person in our family is seen by a nutritionist and literally requires high fat high calorie diet. We cook everything in whole milk, butter, cream, oil. Lots of full fat cheese and even meats for this person. I know it is the opposite of actually eating healthy but it is what is needed now. Are there any substitutions or alternatives to make use of?

[AJL]

Dec 30, 2023 20:07:45 GMT -5 fancynewbeesly said:

Serious question but our household eats a ton of dairy. One person in our family is seen by a nutritionist and literally requires high fat high calorie diet. We cook everything in whole milk, butter, cream, oil. Lots of full fat cheese and even meats for this person. I know it is the opposite of actually eating healthy but it is what is needed now. Are there any substitutions or alternatives to make use of?

Your household is fine. Honestly, changing your dietary ways isn't going to make any difference in the issue of water usage in farming or manufacturing high-water-need crops/products. Yes, it would be a good idea to look foods that are less environmentally harmful, but this has to be approached on a national scale. It's also critical that producers look at finding ways to farm that are more water-sparing. Also we're looking at an issue of not enough ground water replenishment which comes from rain. We're not getting rain in the quantities before because we're a) using it too fast and b) our climate is not producing water at the rate it once did. This is a multi-factor problem that requires a lot of different solutions. 

However, you can continue to eat the dairy you eat. Seriously. It's fine. 

[Deleted]

Dec 30, 2023 20:07:45 GMT -5 fancynewbeesly said:

Serious question but our household eats a ton of dairy. One person in our family is seen by a nutritionist and literally requires high fat high calorie diet. We cook everything in whole milk, butter, cream, oil. Lots of full fat cheese and even meats for this person. I know it is the opposite of actually eating healthy but it is what is needed now. Are there any substitutions or alternatives to make use of?

It’s 100% NOT “the opposite of healthy”!!! It is literally a diet that has been prescribed to that person by medical professionals.

[sillygoosegirl]

Dec 30, 2023 20:07:45 GMT -5 fancynewbeesly said:

Serious question but our household eats a ton of dairy. One person in our family is seen by a nutritionist and literally requires high fat high calorie diet. We cook everything in whole milk, butter, cream, oil. Lots of full fat cheese and even meats for this person. I know it is the opposite of actually eating healthy but it is what is needed now. Are there any substitutions or alternatives to make use of?

First of all, the whole low fat = healthy thing just isn't true. That line of thinking, which I know we were all raised with, is driving a major increase in diabetes. Full fat has more calories per oz generally, so appropriate portion sizes may be smaller, but that's not universal... low fat foods often have so much more sugar added to make up for the flavor loss that they end up having just as many calories anyway.

That said, I would personally be interested in knowing from the dietician if you're specifically looking for animal fats. Because there are definitely high fat vegetable options too, like peanuts, avacado, coconut, hemp hearts, for example.

[pixy0stix]

Dec 31, 2023 13:29:29 GMT -5 sillygoosegirl said:

Dec 30, 2023 20:07:45 GMT -5 fancynewbeesly said:

Serious question but our household eats a ton of dairy. One person in our family is seen by a nutritionist and literally requires high fat high calorie diet. We cook everything in whole milk, butter, cream, oil. Lots of full fat cheese and even meats for this person. I know it is the opposite of actually eating healthy but it is what is needed now. Are there any substitutions or alternatives to make use of?

First of all, the whole low fat = healthy thing just isn't true. That line of thinking, which I know we were all raised with, is driving a major increase in diabetes. Full fat has more calories per oz generally, so appropriate portion sizes may be smaller, but that's not universal... low fat foods often have so much more sugar added to make up for the flavor loss that they end up having just as many calories anyway.

That said, I would personally be interested in knowing from the dietician if you're specifically looking for animal fats. Because there are definitely high fat vegetable options too, like peanuts, avacado, coconut, hemp hearts, for example.

I'd be interested too. I'd bet the dietitian would give a lot of non-animal products if asked.

[msmerymac]

Dec 29, 2023 12:34:03 GMT -5 quesyrah said:

Dec 29, 2023 12:09:56 GMT -5 pixy0stix said:

RE: Why are we eating more chicken - I think the marketing that beef is bad for your health, and really bad for the environment is working. However, in typical American fashion, we're not switching over to plant based protein sources. We're still wanting to eat animal products so we upped our chicken consumption.

100% yes.

DH has been working in sustainability the last 1-2 years and is the PM of his company’s zero waste goal. It’s been interesting how it’s changed our habits at home.

So we’ve started eating way less red meat, but some members of my household don’t like beans, or tofu or other things I’ve tried to replace beef with so I’ve been buying more chicken and pork.

Wait, you’ve been buying more pork? Pork is red meat. And also agriculturally intensive - pigs produce a LOT of waste.

[sillygoosegirl]

Dec 30, 2023 12:46:33 GMT -5 Jalapeñomel said:

Dec 30, 2023 9:53:35 GMT -5 Velar Fricative said:

I do appreciate my lactose intolerance becoming increasingly worse because I’ve converted to vegan dairy almost entirely (lactose-free Greek yogurt is the exception but I just found a possible protein-rich alternative that I hope is tasty).

I’ve reduced meat consumption too in no small part due to increased costs. But the meat industries have really succeeded in making most Americans complain about costs while still consuming as much meat as they normally do because that’s what creates a meal. Vegetarian and vegan options are still considered liberal conspiracies or not manly enough…

Also I did read this a couple of weeks ago but figured Pixy wanted the honor of dooming and glooming us lol.

I also think part of the problem is when people try to give up meat they go for meat substitute items which almost always taste nothing like the “real thing.” If people realized that vegetarians and vegans eat their own types of meals, not just meat substitute meals, they may realize there are other, more delicious options.

I agree. I find most "meat substitutes" terribly disappointing. Yet there are a lot of high protein delicious bean dishes that are nothing like meat, yet are absolutely delicious and satisfying. Humus and falafel are a couple of my favorites that are familiar, but really there are a lot of things you can do with beans that don't actually feel or taste like eating beans at all.

[StrawberryBlondie]

Jan 1, 2024 13:34:15 GMT -5 msmerymac said:

Dec 29, 2023 12:34:03 GMT -5 quesyrah said:

100% yes.

DH has been working in sustainability the last 1-2 years and is the PM of his company’s zero waste goal. It’s been interesting how it’s changed our habits at home.

So we’ve started eating way less red meat, but some members of my household don’t like beans, or tofu or other things I’ve tried to replace beef with so I’ve been buying more chicken and pork.

Wait, you’ve been buying more pork? Pork is red meat. And also agriculturally intensive - pigs produce a LOT of waste.

No no no, it's "the other white meat." 😉

[lightbulbsun]

I've been a vegetarian for 19 years. I still have some major guilt about the food I eat, because I eat dairy and I eat a lot of fresh vegetables year-round. I recently stopped buying avocados after reading an article about the avocado cartels in Mexico. I'm having a really hard time quitting fresh tomatoes.

Also, a few people were asking about the true emissions savings with non-dairy milk. There's a good chart in this article which compares land use, water use, and emissions: www.sciencenews.org/article/milk-cow-alternative-plant-based-taste-sustainability-nutrition

[sent]

Dec 30, 2023 12:46:33 GMT -5 Jalapeñomel said:

Dec 30, 2023 9:53:35 GMT -5 Velar Fricative said:

I do appreciate my lactose intolerance becoming increasingly worse because I’ve converted to vegan dairy almost entirely (lactose-free Greek yogurt is the exception but I just found a possible protein-rich alternative that I hope is tasty).

I’ve reduced meat consumption too in no small part due to increased costs. But the meat industries have really succeeded in making most Americans complain about costs while still consuming as much meat as they normally do because that’s what creates a meal. Vegetarian and vegan options are still considered liberal conspiracies or not manly enough…

Also I did read this a couple of weeks ago but figured Pixy wanted the honor of dooming and glooming us lol.

I also think part of the problem is when people try to give up meat they go for meat substitute items which almost always taste nothing like the “real thing.” If people realized that vegetarians and vegans eat their own types of meals, not just meat substitute meals, they may realize there are other, more delicious options.

Maybe this is a recent thing with all the meat substitute products on the market in under the last 10 years. I've always known people who went in between eating meat and then going vegetarian for a while/permanent, including myself. They never turned to meat substitutes because it wasn't a thing and it's just not how vegetarian diets actually work. 

FTR, I think all the meat-substitute products taste funky and are not at all like meat. 

[basilosaurus]

Jan 5, 2024 13:49:15 GMT -5 sent said:

Dec 30, 2023 12:46:33 GMT -5 Jalapeñomel said:

I also think part of the problem is when people try to give up meat they go for meat substitute items which almost always taste nothing like the “real thing.” If people realized that vegetarians and vegans eat their own types of meals, not just meat substitute meals, they may realize there are other, more delicious options.

Maybe this is a recent thing with all the meat substitute products on the market in under the last 10 years. I've always known people who went in between eating meat and then going vegetarian for a while/permanent, including myself. They never turned to meat substitutes because it wasn't a thing and it's just not how vegetarian diets actually work. 

FTR, I think all the meat-substitute products taste funky and are not at all like meat. 

The only corn dog I've ever had is vegan. This is because 1) I'm not regularly exposed to corn dogs 2) the last hot dog I had was when I was 4, and I immediately got sick, and the smell even this many years later brings me back.

[sent]

I finally read the article. I've read things like this before, like how the prevalence of restaurants that focus on selling chicken wings has pushed chicken wing consumption and production into excess compared to the past. It all makes sense. I grew up eating only chicken and seafood as our only non-plant protein sources. In the 80s, the only chicken options at fast food places were either nuggets at McDonald's or the original chicken sandwich at Burger King. We began adding more chicken to the menu, priced it lower than red meat, marketed it as being healthier than red meat, and here we are.

I feel like we'd have to come up with a national plan to address our diets and how to supply our food with modern technology and the current workforce. Do we do this at a federal level? I don't know.

I don't know what the answers are either. Lately I personally haven't felt like eating meat as much lately. I keep thinking about growing stuff at home like my parents have always done; my dad's hobby was gardening since I was a kid. But like I always say, I'm just one person doing what I can about our social ills and evils. I have the privilege to be able to afford to think about these things and do things like experiment with a home garden. I don't know if this helps the big picture except to make my family stay aware of the choices we make and not pretend like chicken is just a thing that will always be there.