Book 158 - A Year of Magical Learning

Reflection Title: Upcycling!

Book – Sacred Cow: The Case for (Better) Meat: Why Well Raised Meat is Good for You and Good for the Planet by Diana Rodgers and Robb Wolf

Book Description:

Beef is framed as the most environmentally destructive and least healthy of meats. We're often told that the only solution is to reduce or quit red meat entirely. But despite what anti-meat groups, vegan celebrities, and some health experts say, plant-based agriculture is far from a perfect solution. In Sacred Cow, registered dietitian Diana Rodgers and former research biochemist and New York Times bestselling author Robb Wolf explore the quandaries we face in raising and eating animals—focusing on the largest (and most maligned) of farmed animals, the cow.

Taking a critical look at the assumptions and misinformation about meat, Sacred Cow points out the flaws in our current food system and in the proposed "solutions."

Reflection:

Pound for Pound, no pun intended, Sacred Cow was the most new information dense book I’ve read so far on this journey. It was jam packed with an interesting take on a wide range of topics. I learned a TON, and not just about beef and meat. This book touched on seemingly everything like agriculture production, land management, meat production, climate change, greenhouse gas emotions, nature, ecosystems, politics, family, farming, nutrition, diets, etc. It was incredibly well thought out and balanced (at least I thought).

I have no stake in this fight of the merits of a plant-based diet vs animal-based diet. I typically eat what I want for the most part and don’t think much of it to be honest. That is probably not the best approach to anything, let alone something as important as the fuel you put into your body. I do follow a pretty strict diet due to an autoimmune disease I have called Celiacs, but beyond that…if I can eat it…I will. After reading this book, I’m planning on tweaking my diet a little bit to be more intentional with what I put in my body (beyond the no gluten thing which I have to). I’ll keep you posted on results.

The most interesting new item of knowledge I acquired from reading Sacred Cow was around the concept of something the authors referred to as upcycling. I had never heard of this, but after reading this book I found this concept profound in its potential application to this world. Upcycling, also known as creative reuse, is the process of transforming by-products, waste materials, useless, or unwanted products into new materials or products perceived to be of greater quality, such as artistic value or environmental value. Apparently, a lot of animals are great at upcycling nutrient poor foods like grasses and grains and allowing their bodies to magically transform them somehow into nutrient dense food that we consume in their meat, milk, and eggs. They take garbage and turn it into a masterpiece. I had no idea this was even possible. Evolution is truly incredible!

The concept of upcycling made me start to think, what do we as humans naturally upcycle for other species to do our part in this vast ecosystem? This thought brought me back to the power of our imaginations and reminded me that we are the ultimate upcycling animal on this planet. We have the power to transform ideas and thoughts into things. Somehow we can magically take random ideas, questions, thoughts, observations, abstract concepts, and transform and combine them into complex organized ecosystems out of seemingly thin air.

Humans can literally upcycle anything at any time. You never know when the inspiration will hit, but it is our job to keep asking those questions, dreaming those dreams, and continuing to do our part to put in the work to turn those thoughts into things and progress this world forward for all life forms as best we can.

Question: What was the most recent information you upcycled and turned into a brilliant idea?

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Links:

What is The Year of Magical Learning? An Introduction

YOML Podcast Discussion - Coming Soon

YOML Bookstore - Sacred Cow: The Case for (Better) Meat: Why Well Raised Meat is Good for You and Good for the Planet by Diana Rodgers and Robb Wolf