Food for Soul and Body

CONSIDER THE FOLLOWING:

• In 1917, when the Allies threw a naval blockade around the German-occupied territories of northern Europe, the Danish government was forced to ration food. Officials increased the intake of potatoes and barley and virtually eliminated meat, turning some three million Danes into vegetarians overnight. During the year of rationing, the death rate dropped by 34 percent, leading to some of the first speculation about a link between meat consumption and human disease.
• More than half the U.S. population lives within a three-minute drive of a McDonald's; founder Ray Kroc originally located his restaurants near churches, believing that his golden arches and the neighboring steeple would shine a wholesome beacon of light on each other.
• Italians take their name from the word italia, meaning land of cattle. The word "cattle" comes from the same etymological roots as "capital," and "chattel," because cows were the first major form of movable wealth.
• Studies have shown that many men use the absence of meat at the table as a pretext for domestic violence against women. Believing that they are being denied their maleness by being denied meat, such men lash out at their spouses.
• Cattle emit methane, a potent greenhouse gas that is responsible for 18 percent of the current global warming trend. Nearly half the water consumed in the United States goes to grow feed for cattle and other livestock.

  These tidbits all come from Beyond Beef: The Rise and Fall of the Cattle Culture, a new book by Jeremy Rifkin. He charges that "cattle production and beef consumption now rank among the gravest threats to the well-being of Earth and its human population" and hopes his book will shake American society in much the same way Upton Sinclair's book The Jungle did 85 years ago, and Rachel Carson's Silent Spring did in recent decades. His compelling list of chapters includes "Matadors & Machismo"; "Barbed Wire & Land Scams"; "The Disassembly Line"; "The Sociology of Fat"; "Beef, Class, and Nationalism"; and "The Hamburger & The Highway Culture."

Rifkin's book is the centerpiece literature for a coalition of environmental, public health, animal protection, hunger, and development organizations aiming to reduce worldwide beef consumption by 50 percent by the year 2000.

And if all those statistics make you hungry, here is a recipe that is mouth-watering without meat:

Moussaka

Saute:
· 1 onion, diced
· 3-4 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped finely
· 1/2-pound mushrooms, sliced

Add and simmer:
· one can cooked chickpeas, drained
· 1 large can whole peeled tomatoes, chopped
· 1 small can tomato paste
· 1 tsp. oregano
· 1/2 tsp. each basil, thyme, marjoram
· 1/8 tsp. cinnamon
· salt and pepper to taste
· dash of cayenne pepper

Slice and saute in olive oil:
· 2 eggplants (fry well on both sides)

Layer half the eggplant in a 9-by-13 pan, cover with the red sauce, and layer the remaining eggplant on top.

Cover top with bechamel sauce:
· 4 T butter, melted
· 5 T flour
· 1-1/2 cups milk (part cream if desired)
· 1 egg
· pinch salt, nutmeg

Stir flour into butter, cook briefly. Add milk and egg, whisking out lumps. Add salt and nutmeg. Spoon over eggplant and bake for 30-45 minutes, until top is lightly browned.

This recipe is shared by former Sojourners staff member and Santa Cruz wok chef Aaron Gallegos. It draws rave reviews--no matter who is at the table, including former eggplant haters.

Carey Burkett was assistant to the editor of Sojourners when this article appeared.