
Flexitarian
Our Earth is contaminated by industrial chemicals, pollutants, plastics, radiation, and the hangover effects of overinformation in the Fourth Industrial Revolution (i.e. Information Age) – in our Air, Water, Land. How to survive the Modern Age – and celebrate the state of being alive through “alternative foods”
The flexibility of humans is truly amazing. Before the Neolithic Revolution (circa 10,000 BC to 3,000 BC), our ancient ancestors fed on animals (thru scavenging or hunting). Because hunters often returned to their caves unsuccessful, this method of food was not reliable. Only after farming and agriculture became learnt did people have a steady supply of food (through grains, breads, harvests). While they may have lacked access to exotic seasonings or a wide variety of vegetables, for thousands of years both plant and meat were wholly free of all industrial chemicals, heavy metals, synthesized drugs, modified genes – in other words….all food supply (both plant & animal) were by definition organic.
What has changed? Today, organic food – i.e. grown in natural way free of chemical fertilizers and other manmade agents — represents less than 5% of the entire food industry in the developed markets (i.e. 5.5% in USA, 4.4% in France, 9% in Switzerland, 1.4% in Japan). Organic has become the exception, rather than the rule. An astonishingly tiny 1.4% of the world’s total agricultural land is devoted to organic food production. Chemicals as so prevalent – in Air, Water, Land – that if something is truly chemical-free, we marvel at it!
Whereas modern vegetable farming suffered ubiquitously from herbicides & pesticides, the impact on meat quality was much more severe:
- Chicken – atrocious industrialized chicken farms, animal cruelty giving rise to “free range” farming, widespread use of antibiotics to accelerate growth
- Beef — widespread use of growth hormones and other accelerants
- Pork — widespread use of antibiotics
- Fish & Seafood – ocean’s plastic crisis, microplastics in water and air, radioactivity following nuclear disasters, humans treating the oceans like the world’s biggest trash dump for over 200 years of post-industrial civilization
It is with this backdrop that our culinary preferences changed again and gave rise to the “alternative” dietary self-declarations including “vegetarian”, “vegan”, “gluten-free” and other distinctions.
With so many different concerns about animal meats, it comes as no surprise that vegetable-based meats emerged. Today, humans can liberally choose their own self-categorization. The new term “flexitarian” signifies true independence of choice: one need not be labeled as “vegetarian” but can partake in meats as much (or as sparingly) as one desires.
Even better, the new vogue is to switch from real meats (where every chew is laced with doubts about its origins & treatment) to soy-based meats (which many meat-lovers profess is damn tasty and almost identical in texture and taste to the genuine article). In a world dominated by social media, Instagram can just easily show us not only beautiful sexy models but also the realities of human cruelty toward animals (e.g. shark fins, pangolins, tigers, and all species of fish). Unlike our prehistoric ancestors who prayed for a good hunt on the African savannahs as part of a greater ecosystem with animals as animals themselves, today mankind’s systematic and widespread killing and treatment of animals has imbued us with a sense of guilt – perhaps rightly deserved – for every mouthbite of chicken, beef, pork, or fish that we take. As human population continues to explode (forecasted to reach 9 billion by 2050) and animal populations dwindle (often to extinction), the “non-meat meat” option is looking increasingly attractive – and environmentally responsible – with each passing year.
At YUKINO, all of our products are:
- Produced in top quality Countries of Origin (ranging from Japan to Scandinavia and South America) in agricultural cooperatives or handmade by artisanal farmers
- All-natural and/or organically certified by European BIO, USDA Organic, Japan JAS
- We offer a range of gluten-free, vegan, no added sugar, no manmade chemicals, GMO-free, pesticide-free, hormone-free, no preservatives, no artificial colors/aromas/sweeteners, and Halal-certified products
- Backed by our company’s medical credibility and our CEO & Management Team’s decades of combined experience in healthcare, hospital care, and nutritional science
- Delicious! Healthy foods need not taste like rubber chicken or dried cardboard
- Ecologically conscious packaging
More Tips to come in our future blog postings!
Celebrating “Organic Life Time”, by YUKINO Foods Market
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