Vegetarian Barbecue or Grill: Why Meatless?

For most of us, choosing a meatless lifestyle was a slow transition that evolved over a number of years. The important thing for most Americans is not that they eliminate meat altogether, but that they increase the grains and vegetables in their diet. Being totally vegetarian is probably not for everyone. I have learned (the hard way) that people are more willing to accept change when they play a part in making the choices. When my young children occasionally walk into the kitchen with long faces and say, "I hate being a vegetarian," then I surprise them with an evening of chicken on the grill. Once it's no longer a taboo, they really don't want it and, in fact, don't like it that much.

To our mothers, fathers, and grandparents, a meal was not complete unless it included a generous serving of meat. The United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA) four food groups - meat and fish, milk and eggs, fruits and vegetables, and bread and cereals - was the nutritional model that reigned for more than forty years.

Until the early 1980s, the majority of Americans clung to the conviction that they need plenty of animal protein in order to have a healthy diet. Health and nutrition classes taught us what was mirrored on dinner tables throughout the country: Meat was the main course, and we were proud of it.

Since the turn of the century the United States has been the largest beef producer in the world. And it follows that we have one of the highest rates of meat consumption in the world. Meat, especially beef, has been a symbol of our affluence. It would be safe to say that meat eating is as much of our culture as are movies, baseball, and of course, backyard barbecues. So telling the American public that meet need not be the central focus of their diet was akin to canceling Monday night football. But that's what the USDA and the Department of Health and Human Services did when they released the updated Dietary Guidelines for Americans and the Food Guide Pyramid in 1995.

The revised guidelines are the official blueprint for school lunches and other federal nutrition programs. For the first time, the USDA proposed moving grains, vegetables, and fruits to the center of the dinner plate, leaving meat, dietary products, and fats as minor players in the nutritional game plan and acknowledged the potential health benefits of a vegetarian diet.

A host of leading nutrition experts joined forces to assist in revamping the guidelines, which are updated every five years. The proposal they submitted included more than one hundred scientific references showing that vegetarian diets can lead to dramatic reduction in heart disease, cancer, obesity, and other health risks.