Greenday

Barring any major health problems, i will probably never be a vegetarian. This is something with which i struggle as an environmentalist and as a believer, trying to make good choices about taking care of the earth and the animals which inhabbit it. i love beef. i love most meat, cow, pig, sheep, rattlesnake, bear, deer, chicken, duck, ostrich, gator, ALL kinds of seafood (fish, squid, octopus) and even jellyfish.

In fact, as we begin to discuss our food choices as necessarily responsible and faithful decisions we make about how we are stewards of creation AND how we are neighbors to our global brothers and sisters who lack proper food and nutrition, we have to (re)consider some somewhat more exotic food. The question, "Where's the beef?" is a relevant one. Much of our beef is farmed on mega-ranches and fed with sawdust mixed with chicken manure, cattle squeezed into small pens and shot up with more steroids than your average MLB homerun hitter. These are not the happy California cows you see on TV, and they're significantly less happy than the cows out in the blizzard-like pastures of Wisconsin. While the happiness of your food prior to its demise may not be your chief concern, the cost and environmental impact may be more persuassive.

i have no intention of talking you out of your burger (i intend to eat many more myself before i die). However, i would like to share a few alternatives that may become more popular in the near future for environmentaly friendly carnivores and thrifty omnivores of all kinds...

Jellyfish

Overfishing has killed off the fish that eat jellies, allowing jellyfish populations to explode. In some formerly biologically diverse areas of ocean, the jellyfish biomass is now greater than that of fish, which is likely to continue since climate change and pollution are changing the ocean chemistry, creating conditions favorable to jellyfish. Jellies eat fish eggs, so once they take over the neighborhood, they tend to be there for good.

The Japanese have learned to make jellyfish more tasty. You can find jellyfish ice cream, jellyfish biscuits, rum-soaked jellyfish, and even wasabi-flavored jellyfish sold in vending machines. i personally like it best grilled. When it's boiled, it's very chewy.

Nutria

The nutria is a nasty little water-loving rodent native to Argentina. It was first brought to the US to be farmed for its fur, like beavers. Fur demand shot down and the little beasts took over. They're an ecological menace in much of the marshy southeast US where they've damaged more than 100,000 acres of wetlands, and the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries pays a $4-per-tail bounty for the creatures. The department promotes the eating of nutria meat, and runs a website featuring recipes for nutria chili, sausage, gumbo, and more.

In other news, if you want to be enironmentally conscious and hip, check out this water bottle from the Onion Store.