NATURAL PERSPECTIVES:

Vic and I are not animal rights activists. You’ll never see us marching to free enslaved bovine Americans. Cows are delicious, and we enjoy eating them. But we have a beef with cattle. They’re flatulent. And that flatulence contributes to global warming in a major way.

Here’s how cows work. They eat grass, which is loaded with cellulose. Mammals can’t digest cellulose, which is the fiber in our diets. Cows and other ungulates have solved this problem by hosting bacteria in their four-chambered stomachs. The bacteria digest the cellulose, breaking it down into component sugars. Thanks to their symbiotic bacteria, cows then can utilize the nutrients in their forage.

But there is an unfortunate byproduct in this process. Methane. Cows produce large quantities of methane, which is emitted in burps and farts. Methane, like carbon dioxide, is a greenhouse gas. Only it’s a far more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide. Methane is about 17 times more effective at trapping and holding the sun’s energy than carbon dioxide. Fortunately, there is a lot less methane in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide. Unfortunately, that amount is growing, in part due to growth in the world’s livestock industry.

A report by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations claims that livestock are a major contributor to environmental problems, in part due to the land-use changes associated with raising cattle and their feed. Livestock are responsible for about 18% of greenhouse gas emissions as measured in carbon dioxide equivalents. This takes into consideration the methane that livestock produce, as well as the energy required to fertilize, harvest and ship their feed, plus the energy used in pumping water for them, and running slaughterhouses.

According to the USDA, per-capita consumption of meat in America in 2005 included 87 pounds of chicken, 66 pounds of beef, 50 pounds of pork, 18 pounds of turkey, 16 pounds of fish and less than a pound each of lamb and veal. That comes to 239 pounds of red meat, poultry and fish per person per year. This represents an increase of 50 pounds of meat per person compared to the consumption levels of 50 years ago. And as our consumption of meat has climbed, so has obesity and heart disease.

Grain-fed beef is the least environmentally sound way to produce protein for human consumption, as it takes 10 times more land to grow grain to produce the equivalent amount of beef protein than if we got our protein directly from grain. Chickens and turkeys are far more efficient at converting grain to meat protein than cattle. Having poultry for dinner is a more environmentally sound choice than beef. Going vegetarian is an even sounder choice.

We eliminated meat at breakfast long ago, and now we’re trying to cut down the amount of meat at lunch and dinner as well. I’m happy with meat once every other day, but Vic wants to go all vegetarian, at least for now.

Next Wednesday is Ash Wednesday, the start of Lent and a traditional time of sacrifice for Christians. Catholics forgo meat on Ash Wednesday and all Fridays during Lent. We thought that writing about vegetarian meals would be timely, and might encourage other people to look at their eating habits too.

A vegetarian diet isn’t just eating vegetables. The key to getting adequate protein lies in eating grains such as rice, wheat and corn, and legumes such as beans, lentils and peas. The addition of nuts is a good way to add additional protein. We use milk, eggs and cheese in most of our vegetarian dishes.

It’s easier than you might think to prepare meatless meals. Think about old American standbys such as macaroni and cheese, scalloped potatoes, succotash, baked beans (or bean soup) and corn bread, grilled cheese sandwiches with tomato soup, or baked acorn squash with walnuts. For summer grilling, toss some halved Japanese eggplant and Portabello mushrooms on the grill along with bell peppers, summer squash and corn on the cob. No need for steak. If you’re looking for a good vegetarian cookbook, I can recommend Williams-Sonoma’s Best of the Kitchen “Vegetarian.”

It’s also easy to make vegetarian choices when eating out. Mexican cuisine includes chile rellenos, cheese enchiladas, cheese quesadillas, bean tostadas and bean burritos.

Italian cuisine is loaded with great vegetarian dishes. Tonight, we’re having eggplant Parmesan. Other meatless Italian favorites are risotto, spaghetti with marinara sauce, fettuccine Alfredo, pasta primavera, polenta, lasagna, manicotti and shells stuffed with ricotta. The variations of meatless sauces and pastas are nearly endless.

Chinese cuisine offers meatless options from vegetarian moo shu to garlic eggplant to egg fu yung. We make a lot of stir-fry meals at home, using greens and vegetables from our garden. Sometimes I add cashews to the stir fry, and sometimes I use tofu. I dice extra firm tofu and brown it in oil before stir frying the vegetables. An alternative is tofu that is textured to resemble chicken or other meats.

Season the stir fry with soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, a dollop of honey and ginger. Serve it with brown steamed rice and you have a great dinner.

One of our favorite meals is the vegetarian special at Buhkara Indian Restaurant on Edinger Avenue. It’s an easy way to try a number of Indian vegetarian dishes, such as mulligatawny soup, dal, palak paneer, pakoras and samosas.

I make a carrot-mushroom-lentil curry with rice and chutney that is one of our favorite vegetarian dishes

Middle Eastern cuisine offers falafel and a number of eggplant dishes. With mint coming up now in our garden, I’ll be making some tabbouleh soon with bulgur wheat. I like to add ground peanuts and dates to my tabbouleh, which I serve with pita bread, hummus and a roasted red bell pepper dip.

We hope these suggestions will inspire you to try a few more meatless meals. Vegetarianism is good for your health, your pocketbook and the planet.

VIC LEIPZIG and LOU MURRAY are Huntington Beach residents and environmentalists. They can be reached at vicleipzig@aol.com.