An occasional meat-eater faces the brutal truth

Upon reading about the history of vegetarianism in the new tome The Bloodless Revolution, food writer and occasional meat-eater Tom Philpott wonders: will the consumption of sentient animals one day be widely denounced as immoral? It’s not inconceivable, he says — but for now, Americans eat a stunning three-quarters of a pound of meat per day. While large-scale agricultural production may deserve more ire than meat itself, Philpott says in his latest Edible Media column, it’s still time to cut back — and encourage others to follow our lead.