Lifestyle: Health & Fitness

By Terri Coles

TORONTO (Reuters) - Vegetarianism is a popular choice for those whose personal politics dictate their diets.

Now "compassionate carnivores" see an option that allows for meat consumption with a side of activism, focusing on small farms with sustainable and humane practices.

An estimated 1 to 3 percent of adult Americans choose not to eat meat, poultry or fish, and a subset of those are vegans, who avoid all animal products including dairy and eggs.

Some of those who are vegetarian, or have reduced their overall meat consumption, for reasons of conscience or politics are beginning to take that activism and shift it towards eating sustainable meat, choosing products with the intention of striking a blow against industrial farming practices.

"I was talking to this guy I know who said 'The grass-fed movement is the new vegetarianism,'" said Alix Wall, a personal chef in the Bay Area of California. "I'd never heard of that but when he said it, it made a lot of sense to me."

The shift may be fueled in part by the popularity of Michael Pollan's best-seller "The Omnivore's Dilemma", which critiques industrial farming practices and celebrates small operations humanely raising livestock fed at pasture, with an eye to environmental protection and sustainability.

Some studies have shown that meat from pasture-fed animals is healthier than the conventionally farmed counterparts. Beef from grass-fed cows is lower in fat and cholesterol than that from cows fed corn and other grains.

The products of the smaller farms Pollan extols appeal to some vegetarians who stopped eating meat because of concerns about the welfare of livestock, the environmental impact of meat production or the health effects of eating factory-farmed meat, but critics say that eating meat with a label implying sustainability or humane practices doesn't get around the fact that these animals are ultimately raised to be killed.

Reading Pollan's descriptions of the two different food production practices made Wall think differently about farming and she began to see animals as an integral part of an interconnected system. It also led her to wonder if all meat was unhealthy or only meat that came from industrial farming practices.

Isa Chandra Moskowitz, a vegan cookbook author, points out that sustainable meat production still has its issues. Organic labeling aside, producers can use many labels that advertise humane practices without having to prove it. "I think the term is misleading," she said about sustainable meat. "A lot of people don't know what actually goes on on these farms. You have a situation of the foxes guarding the henhouse, so to say."

The new availability of sustainable meat may be just another way out for people who would not have stayed vegetarian anyway, Moskowitz said. "I don't think more people are leaving veganism because of this, or leaving vegetarianism because of this," she said. "I think it's just the excuse they're giving."

Meat sold as sustainable costs more than conventionally raised meat, but Mollie Katzen, author of popular vegetarian cookbooks including "The Moosewood Cookbook", said that eating it in moderation counteracts the price difference.

Katzen advocates eating a three to four ounce serving of meat as part of a meal that includes vegetables, fruits and grains instead of making it the central ingredient. "I never see the center of the plate as being a big hunk of flesh, even now that I'll have a few bites of it," she said. "It's not a big reversal for me."

Moving away from vegetarianism can bring about something of an identity crisis for those who see their decision not to eat meat as part of who they are.

Wall has been a vegetarian for nearly 20 years, and said that even though she is considering making the switch, it's not easy to take that first bite. "I'm very conflicted about it. I can't say that I'm just going to start doing it," she said.

"It's such a mental leap for me to take at this point because I've been a vegetarian for half my life."

Katzen said that although she now eats meat sometimes, she plans to continue to cook vegetarian meals and write vegetarian cookbooks and respects those who don't eat meat and don't intend to begin.

Moskowitz falls into that category, because no matter how an animal is raised, she still has a problem with breeding animals specifically to be killed.

"With factory farming, they are brought up in these horrible conditions, and with quote-unquote "humane" meat they may not be," she said, "but it's still cruel to breed an animal specifically for that purpose."

If Wall does start eating meat again, she said, she'll feel better about the decision knowing that she can choose meat that came from animals that lived a more natural lifespan, were fed what they're meant to eat, were not force-fed, and weren't crowded into pens -  but that knowledge isn't yet enough to convince her.

"These animals are still raised for the sole purpose of our eating them, it's just that they're treated a lot better," she said.

The wider discussion about how the food we eat gets to our plates is positive, Moskowitz said.

"I hope it doesn't end at "I'm going to eat these cage-free eggs and call it a day,'" she said. Ultimately, even more humane practices aren't sustainable because they're not economically feasible, she said, which is why meat production is dominated by factory farming.

Katzen sees the move towards sustainable meat, on both ends of the dietary spectrum, as part of a larger dietary inclusiveness. "For many decades, we've seen healthy eating as more what you're not eating than what you are eating," she said.

It's more important to pay attention to what we're including and enjoying than to what we're excluding, she said. "I'm thrilled to see the labels softening and people not feeling the need to classify their eating."