Stephanie: thanks for your comments and interesting perspective! We’d love to have you share more about your experiences in Burundi…if you’re interested, please send me an email! belinda at zomppa.com! I see what you are saying; I remember when in Nepal, a lot of the visiting Americans didn’t want to eat the meat because they were worried where it came from…except that the meat was from the backyard. I never got sick eating the meat – in fact, it was some of the most delicious and healthy since it literally came from the backyard!

Kat: you’re in Ireland! Can’t keep track of you…is the meat pricier there than in the U.S.?

I thought of your post as I shopped with my mum at the local Sainsbury’s here. Most of the meat that was being sold had labels on saying that it was Northern Irish meat. At least I know it hasn’t had to travel far…

Commercial vegetable farms can be just as damaging to the environment as commercial livestock farms. It’s all about eating locally as much as is realistically possible for each person.

I was never a huge meat eater because of the ethics around the way meat is raised in the U.S. and the labor practices of the slaughterhouses. But I love the meat here in Burundi. It’s weird, I’m physically and emotionally closer to the meat, you drive by the cows and chickens grazing happily every day, and when you see a truckload of pigs heading into the city, you know exactly where they’re going and that they’re going to end up in the “boucherie” at the end of the day. But knowing the animals are eating what they’re supposed to eat makes me feel better. And I think the meat tastes better. I’ve had some of the best grass-fed steaks ever here. Also, you can’t get any closer to supporting local farmers than buying an animal directly from them and taking it to the butcher yourself.

But I know other Americans here who refuse to eat the local meat *because* they see exactly where it’s coming from. They prefer their meat frozen and shipped in from South Africa, where the meat is anonymously and questionably raised much like in the United States. Yet somehow I come across as the barbarian animal-hater.

Also, is there any research on increasing the cost of meat? I know that I’ve opened a can of worms with that question (domino effect on meat sales, farmers, lobbyist, etc), but….I wonder what a ‘sales tax’ on meat would do? Would it really help curb meat consumption (has increased sales tax on cigarettes curb intake? I have no clue)?