ABSTRACT
This chapter briefly summarises some of the key issues surrounding rising numbers of intensively-reared livestock and the consequently high levels of meat consumption in the rich North. The US Department of Agriculture temporarily closed Hanford-based Central Valley Meat Co. after reviewing video footage from the animal rights group Compassion over Killing, which said it had captured images of torture and intentional cruelty to cows. In the Islamic world strict dietary laws prohibit the consumption of pork, blood or the meat of any animal not slaughtered according to the code of halal. The two main meat analogue materials are: textured vegetable protein which is derived from soybeans and which is considered high in protein and fibre content; and Quorn, a trademarked mycoprotein product that is low in fat and high in protein and fibre. Nevertheless, the charge might be made that flexitarianism simply reinforces self-identity for, as Buller argues, the ethical consumer benefits twice: by acquiring quality food and ethical standing.
