Skipping Meat Reduces Carbon Footprint

If you were looking for a reason to pat yourself on the back for going veg, good news:

The Harvard Business Review recently covered a study regarding the choices people make about food and the relative impact these choices have on carbon emissions. The study found that cultivating and processing food is much more energy intensive than transporting it, despite the staggering distances which food tends to go before it reaches your plate. The greenhouse gasses produced by the farming of animals for red meat was found to be particularly detrimental. The author concludes that skipping just one day of meat a week in favor of another food source will cut as much carbon emissions as you would reduce by buying local foods 7 days a week. So if you are a conservationist or just a friend of the Earth, be proud to go veg!

What do you think?

The original study can be found here and the HBR article discussing it can be found here

Mori-Nu Tofu House Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients

  1. 1 Cup unsalted margarine
  2. 1 Cup unrefined cane sugar
  3. 2 Tbs light molasses
  4. 4 Tbs Mori-Nu Tofu (firm) puréed
  5. 1 tsp vanilla extract
  6. 1 ¾ cups unbleached flour
  7. ¼ Cup whole wheat flour
  8. ½ tsp baking soda
  9. ¼ tsp salt 12 oz chocolate chips
  1. Preheat oven to 350°F
  2. Cream margarine, sugar and molasses with electric beaters or in heavy-duty mixer until light and fluffy. Add tofu puree and vanilla; beat for 1 minute more.
  3. Mix flours, soda and salt in small bowl. Add to creamed mixture and mix at low speed with the electric mixer or lightly with a rubber spatula, blending in all flour. Fold in chocolate chips.
  4. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes. Cool on wire rack.

Vegan Chocolate Cake

Ingredients

  1. 1 ½ c. unbleached flour
  2. 1 ½ c. whole wheat flour
  3. 1 T. baking soda
  4. 1 ½ t. baking powder
  5. ½ t. sea salt
  6. ¾ c. organic applesauce
  7. ¾ c. canola oil
  8. 2 ½ c. sucanat or other sweetener
  9. 1T. egg replacer 1/3 c. water
  10. 1 ½ c. unsweetened organic cocoa
  11. 1 ½ c. organic decaf coffee
  12. 1 ½ c. soy milk

Oil and flour 2 9in. round layer pans or 1 9×11 in baking pan. Combine dry ingredients, set aside. Beat together apple sauce, oil, sweetener and egg replacer. Add cocoa, coffee and soy milk and dry ingredients beating well. Turn into pans. Bake 30 minutes or until done in a 350 degree oven.

Swedish Meatless Balls (vegan)

Ingredients

  1. Meatless balls (Trader Joe’s frozen vegan meatless balls or make your own)
  2. 1 16 oz. can jellied cranberry sauce
  3. 1 10 oz. catsup
  4. 2 Tbsp. brown sugar
  5. 1 Tbsp. lemon juice

Melt all sauce ingredients in sauce pan on stove top. Pour over frozen meatless balls in pan. Bake for 20-30 minutes at 350 degrees. Makes 48 meatless balls.

Vegan Parmesan

Ingredients

  1. 4 garden burgers of choice
  2. 4 slices Vegan soy mozerella cheese
  3. 2 c. organic pasta sauce
  4. 1 c. slice peppers (any color)
  5. 1 c. sliced onions
  6. 3 cloves fresh garlic minced
  7. 2 T. olive oil
  8. 4 c. spelt spaghetti cooked
  9. Vegan parmesan cheese

Saute peppers, onions, and garlic in olive oil. Set aside. Saute or bake garden burgers until cooked and browned. Top with soy cheese. Layer in a baking dish spaghetti, garden burgers, pepper mix and top with pasta sauce. Sprinkle with vegan parmesan cheese and bake ½ hour at 350 degrees.