In my Church, we do not eat any meat on Fridays (especially during the time period before Easter). Thus when confronted with a meat dish on a Friday, I need to find another alternative to that dish and when at my church on a Friday we all eat vegetables, pasta, pizza, pierogies, etc. This social norm thus influences my choice to have meat on Fridays and in fact could be better for both the environment and my own health because it lessens the amount of meat I consume, as well as those within my church. Consequently even though we do this more as a form of sacrifice and reverence, it can also be seen as a sort of social norm which encourages a collective action to help the environment as well.
As stated in the previous paragraph, this social norm within my church thus promotes a collective action to help the environment and sustainability, if only by a small amount. Now this is mainly a religious choice, but can also be tied to societal issues such as hunger (famine) and nutrition. For one day each week, we sacrifice something we really enjoy and choose to give up what others might not have access to as we do in the US. Many people in other areas of the world cannot afford to meat because it is too expensive, while vegetables are often easier to grow even at home. This also allows me the opportunity to make sure that I intake more vegetables and fruits to ensure proper nutrition. Although I enjoy eating meat and most likely will never become a vegetarian (although I do respect people who can do that), it gives me to a chance to sacrifice and be cognizant of something more that my own desires.
Hi, my name is Julie, and I am a sophomore at Penn State Worthington Scranton. This is a link to my blog post: http://geog030.dutton.psu.edu/2016/03/03/throwing-away-perfectly-good-meals-julie-cardillo/ . In my post, I talked about how it is socially acceptable to order/cook a meal, not finish it, and throw it in the trash, and I discussed how this allows there to be societal issues with food waste and the environment. Your post caught my attention because I am Catholic too, so it is a norm to not eat meat on Friday’s for me too. This is really hard for me because I LOVE meat and HATE fruits/vegetables, so I have a hard time finding foods to eat. However, I feel that this social norm connects to mine because giving up meat on Friday’s gives one an appreciation for meat (aside from vegetarians since they don’t eat meat, but not saying they don’t appreciate this/their food). Thus, this appreciation makes one want to not waste meat (or any food), because not having meat for one day really opens your eyes to realize what it would be like to not have this food.
Hello! My name is Joelle. In my post I talked about the consumption of meat as well but from a different perspective and here is a link
geog030.dutton.psu.edu/2016/03/03/food-in-relation-to-norms/
I find it interesting that you talked about how it is a norm for your church to not eat meat on Fridays during lent. I too have experienced that same norm in my church. Although it is a norm that is in my life, I often find myself forgetting about the rule and accidentally eating meat anyways. Since I forget I often find myself feeling guilty for breaking a rule set by the church during this time.