Five years ago, my family and I took a trip to India. Having a father who was born in India and being half Indian myself, I had eaten plenty of Indian cuisine and foods during my life. But, what one does not realize is how different the meals and food are designed in a different country. When I was there, breakfast was not too different from the United States. Hot tea, toast, cereal, and eggs were common. But the other meals were extremely different. No one ate a sandwich for lunch. Dinner and lunch were very similar. Both consisted of rice, some form of chicken or lamb, vegetables, and hot tea. Lunch was always slightly smaller though. The social norm also included no consumption of beef, as the cow is considered a sacred animal in India. Even at an international food-chain like McDonalds, hamburgers were not served, and instead lamb-patties were. Beef and beef-products were never sold in any restaurant or home. Instead, people mostly ate chicken, or no meat at all.
The idea behind not eating beef and eating similar food for lunch and dinner can be connected to several societal factors. By not eating cows, the people of India are able to use the trophic distribution more efficiently. Raising a cow compared to a chicken much less energy. As a result, less energy is lost as one climbs the tropic ladder. Therefore, more people can eat and survive on the energy saved. There is no need for the land that would be taken up by cows, or the contaminants as indicated in “The Hidden Costs of Hamburgers”. In addition, by eating similar food for lunch and dinner, people do not need to buy or make as many products as they would in places like America. The social norm of not eating beef is one that should continue in other places of the world, as well as the similar diet for lunch and dinner. Less waste is created if leftovers could be eaten for lunch and dinner, and fewer cows would be treated unethically.
3 thoughts on “Module 6- India’s Beef with Beef”
Although growing up my family operated a cattle ranch. Beef was a major part of our diet. It was at nearly every meal in one form or another. I always wondered why we did not raise other animals as well. Cattle are large, expensive and took up most of the land we had to keep the herd well fed and taken care of. Then you add in the additional expense of equipment to haul the cattle, clear land, etc and the costs are staggering compared to smaller animals such as chickens or lamb. Growing up on a high beef diet did not transfer into my adulthood. My wife is a vegetarian and that has rubbed off on me. My meat intake is very minimal and has improved my overall health and well being by reducing my cholesterol (I am only 32 and very athletic but doctors flagged it as high due to my previous red meat consumption).
Hello Dhruv, my name is Rachael. I found your post to be interesting because I never knew these things about the Indian culture. Not eating beef really does save a lot of energy. I grew up on a farm so eating beef in my family is a common thing. I think it would be great to try and cut down on eating it and try alternate foods. I also very much agree with having similar meals with both lunch and dinner. My family always has a ton of leftovers from both lunch and dinner and half the time they go to waste, which i’m sure is the same for many other families. These little changes could really make a difference. Overall great job especially with your diagram. If you’d like to check out my blog the link is http://sites.psu.edu/geog30/2016/02/29/module-6-social-…rachael-donnelly/
Hello Dhruv. If you would like to read my post, here is the link, http://sites.psu.edu/geog30/2016/02/29/tenaya-mulvey-food-choices/.
Your entry is on the same path as mine when talking about food waste. I also agree with your statement about not eating beef and how more people should follow that social norm. I strongly disagree with the way the animals are treated. These animals take up so much space and release so much methane we should consume less to minimize the damage to the environment. I think our posts are different in a sense that you would prefer using leftovers where I think we should simply not make an over abundance of food which seems to be a common idea for many people in the United States. The over abundance of food made or piled onto a plate creates obesity which is another huge problem in the United States.
Although growing up my family operated a cattle ranch. Beef was a major part of our diet. It was at nearly every meal in one form or another. I always wondered why we did not raise other animals as well. Cattle are large, expensive and took up most of the land we had to keep the herd well fed and taken care of. Then you add in the additional expense of equipment to haul the cattle, clear land, etc and the costs are staggering compared to smaller animals such as chickens or lamb. Growing up on a high beef diet did not transfer into my adulthood. My wife is a vegetarian and that has rubbed off on me. My meat intake is very minimal and has improved my overall health and well being by reducing my cholesterol (I am only 32 and very athletic but doctors flagged it as high due to my previous red meat consumption).
Hello Dhruv, my name is Rachael. I found your post to be interesting because I never knew these things about the Indian culture. Not eating beef really does save a lot of energy. I grew up on a farm so eating beef in my family is a common thing. I think it would be great to try and cut down on eating it and try alternate foods. I also very much agree with having similar meals with both lunch and dinner. My family always has a ton of leftovers from both lunch and dinner and half the time they go to waste, which i’m sure is the same for many other families. These little changes could really make a difference. Overall great job especially with your diagram. If you’d like to check out my blog the link is http://sites.psu.edu/geog30/2016/02/29/module-6-social-…rachael-donnelly/
Hello Dhruv. If you would like to read my post, here is the link, http://sites.psu.edu/geog30/2016/02/29/tenaya-mulvey-food-choices/.
Your entry is on the same path as mine when talking about food waste. I also agree with your statement about not eating beef and how more people should follow that social norm. I strongly disagree with the way the animals are treated. These animals take up so much space and release so much methane we should consume less to minimize the damage to the environment. I think our posts are different in a sense that you would prefer using leftovers where I think we should simply not make an over abundance of food which seems to be a common idea for many people in the United States. The over abundance of food made or piled onto a plate creates obesity which is another huge problem in the United States.