Lindsy Piping Plovers Tomski

We do certainly live in a meat-focused food culture. Some of these values are ingrained and will take more than additional education to adjust, but in general, I think most people are apprehensive about a, "meatless meal," because they associate meat with protein and the reality is, there are many foods that provide just as much, (if not more!) protein as meat. 

I appreciated the small adjustment of just one meal a day, vs. 100%, "cold-turkey,"  "100% no meat" because this highlighted just how easy and satisfying a small impact change can be. Encouraging others to take small steps like, "just one meal a day," might also be a great way to approach shifting the focus because it helped me shift my focus.

In addition to ensuring at least one meal a day was, "meatless," my boyfriend and me have started a new rule in our household that encourages less, (but not 100% no meat.) This new rule is simple: We do not purchase any meat. If someone gifts-us meat, we'll take it and eat it. If we harvest (or a good friend/family members harvests the meat,) we eat it. We also allow meat when we eat out. Eliminating only the, "store-bought," meat from out diets has been another relatively easy way to reduce our meat consumption. 

My boyfriend and me plan to set up more automatic timers on our lights. 
This will ensure the lights always turn off when we need them to, even if we forget!