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I really try to limit my meat intake for a variety of reasons. I eat meat maybe once a week, if that. For one, I live with a vegetarian, so I don't cook meat at home (except when we have people over to barbeque in the summer). For two, meat is expensive. For three, I cannot eat meat without thinking of the system that produces it, and the problems within that system, both environmental and otherwise. My SO is a vegetarian largely for the environmental reasons.
I do eat eggs and dairy, but I try to choose local, humane options. The closer to my home it is, the less fuel it takes to get here. I like to choose producers (and this is true of meat as well, when I do eat it) where it would be totally feasible for me to go and see where my food comes from, to see how the animal is treated, and to see what steps they are taking to be environmentally friendly. Generally, in my part of the world, smaller producers think about those issues. I avoid mass-produced eggs, milk, cheese, and meat. In choosing other dairy products, I often try to find locally-produced options. Even my ice cream is produced less than an hour away! The one exception is my sour cream, which is produced in Texas, with Texan milk. It's the only sour cream I'm found that doesn't have any thickeners or food additives--all of the local options have additives (and therefore are food products, not food).
But if there is meat that has been raised with a conscience available for me to eat, I will eat it. It's just too darn tasty to resist! Plus, I think animals who have been treated and fed well taste a lot better than those who haven't. Additionally, I would like to support the alternative system of locally-grown, humanely-raised meat available in my community. I do my best to keep as much of my food money in my local community as possible.
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If I am not better, at least I am different. --Jean-Jacques Rousseau
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