Meat eating is largely a matter of flavor. If flavor is supplied, the reduction of meat in the diet can be made with little annoyance. Nutrition can always be supplied in the other dishes that accompany the meal, as a certain proportion of protein is found in almost every food product. The meat that we use to obtain flavor in sauces and gravies need not be large in quantity, nor expensive in cut. The poor or cheap cuts have generally more flavor than the expensive ones, the difference being entirely in texture and tenderness, freedom from gristle and inedible tissue. There are many cereals, such as rice, hominy, cornmeal, samp and many vegetable dishes, especially dried beans of all kinds, that are greatly improved by the addition of meat sauce and when prepared in this way may be served as the main dish of a meal.
Dr. Harvey W. Wiley has stated that the meat eating of the future will not be regarded as a necessity so much as it has been in the past, and that meat will be used more as a condimental substance. Europe has for years used meat for flavor rather than for nutriment. It would seem that the time has come for Americans to learn the use of meat for flavor and to utilize more skillfully the protein of other foods.
It may be difficult to convince the meat lover that he can radically reduce the proportion of meat in his diet without detriment to health. Many persons adhere to the notion that you are not nourished unless you eat meat; that meat foods are absolutely necessary to maintain the body strength. This idea is entirely without foundation, for the foods mentioned as meat substitutes earlier in this chapter can be made to feed the world, and feed it well--in fact, no nation uses so large a proportion of meat as America.
The first step, therefore, in preparing ourselves to reduce meat consumption is to recognize that only a small quantity of meat is necessary to supply sufficient protein for adult life. The growing child or the youth springing into manhood needs a larger percentage of meat than the adult, and in apportioning the family's meat ration this fact should not be overlooked.
The second step is to reduce the amount purchased, choosing cuts that contain the least waste, and by utilizing with care that which we do purchase. Fat, trimmings, and bones all have their uses and should be saved from the garbage pail.