Let's focus on just one question in this article: "Why is vegetarian cuisine not taken seriously?" What we are looking for here are not black and white solutions, but colorful ways of thinking about problems. So, here's the state of the facts.. 

It's probable that most of us would point to protein (or the supposed lack of it..) as a reason for not being able to quit meat and take veggies seriously. Stepping past the slew of  veg. vs non veg. protein debates and online 'comment wars' about the topic, let's ask ourselves if there is something else at the root of the problem.. Cooking. How many of us know how to treat asparagus like a gentleman/ lady? Ok, how many of us cooked a respectable vegetarian dinner from scratch in the last 7 days? So, will good cooking really solve the problem? Maybe..

Unlike "meat, fish, and eggs" - based cuisine, pure vegetarian food of high quality (and low price..) is rare to come by in the US. One has to just randomly pick up a supermarket snack to read out a plethora of ingredients derived from animal flesh or bones. Just this morning, Lisa Hymas wrote about vegetarian cuisine on the Grist magazine, noting the ubiquity of animal derived stuff in otherwise vegetarian / vegan foods across more-than-decent restaurants in Seattle. She goes on to challenge chefs to create impressive vegetarian/ vegan fare than is rich in protein and also stands up to the taste test. Even with a few good restaurants and flexible menus out there, she points out that: "..vegetarians still get no respect."

I'm vegetarian. Bite me! 

She quotes Anthony Bourdain, and explains how even (or is it especially?) famous chefs are frustrated with vegetarian demands and would be glad to not be bothered about it all, and just chow down their lambchops. What is going on here? Has it become an assumption that vegetarian food just isn't classy?  Is cultural lag in adjusting to the necessity for increased vegetarian/ vegan food setting us back on the sustainability trajectory? There are enough reasons to support the shift from a cuisine centered on animal protein to one that can work intelligently with plant based protein. For instance, this infographic shows exactly how much environmental benefit there is in choosing vegetarian foods over animal products. 

One can not change overnight, but even gradual progress should have a definite direction, and a set of concrete milestones. After we've come this far, here are a few things to contemplate at our various levels of influence and interest:

• As an employee/ student, what would encourage you to consider reducing weekly animal protein intake to 80% of your current consumption levels by the end of 2012? Now, say, down to 20% by the end of 2020? :)
• How easy/ hard is it to begin discussions in your sustainability team/ cohort about increasing vegetarian options in your office/ campus cafeteria or canteen, while choosing to replace animal protein with plant protein to tenable limits that help in achieving organizational GHG (eCO2) footprint reduction targets? Why?
• At a societal level, how can sustainability indices and ratings better reflect the water and carbon footprint reductions obtained from a plant-based protein diet?
• Imagine the possibility for all people to eat about similar amounts of meat and fish as an average American does today. What kind of changes would that make to your company's long term sustainability vision, plans and targets?