Meat-free Febuary

What do tofu, tofurkey, fakon, fauxsage and fauxlogna have in common?  Simple--they all figure to be prominently featured in my diet over the month of February.  That's right, I--a self-proclaimed meat eating caveman--am giving up animal flesh for an entire month.¹  I've made it through two-plus days, and I can already feel the malnutrition and loss of skin pigmentation setting in.  Good times.

As much as I love the taste of a freshly slaughtered hunk of beef, or the sweet smell of a genetically modified, mutant-sized chicken breast, it has become impossible to argue that raising and eating animals isn't far worse for the environment than a meatless diet.  I'll spare you any numbers or statistics (mostly because it's difficult to find exact consensus due to the number of variables involved), but it's universally acknowledged (assuming you don't work in the cattle or chicken industries) that the embedded energy in a pound of beef is much higher than that of a pound of grain or vegetables.  It borders on common sense.

I like to think of myself as being environmentally conscious, and my meat-laden diet is one of the last, and easiest, areas for me to modify in a pro-environment fashion.  Like my habit of riding public transportation around Los Angeles², I am doing this for myself (though, my lovely GF should be commended for jumping on the bandwagon joining me) and am not looking to necessarily change anyone's mind on the matter.  We all love the taste of meat, and I realize it's no fun to give it up.  Whether or not I'll live sans-meat past February 28th is still to be seen, but I'm sure that my consumption will at least be greatly reduced

In the meantime, I see this experiment as a wonderful opportunity to not only lower my carbon footprint, but to check out some new restaurants, and make a number of flavorless tasty, meatless recipes.³  Wish me luck.

Note 1 - Meat-free February is being done entirely for environmental reasons.  I'm ambivalent (and some would say all for it) when it comes to animal cruelty/pain, inhumane conditions, etc.  Sorry, but it's true.
Note 2 - My good friend Mike, and the aforementioned lovely GF, are both more than a little responsible for this experiment.  My thanks goes out to both of them.
Note 3 - Updates to come soon.
Note 4 - I'm not looking forward to a meatless Superbowl party and Valentines Day.  So it goes.
Note 5 - Any recommendations, stories, or easy recipes would be greatly appreciated.

¹ The butchers at the Santa Monica Vons are shedding tears right now.
² It's been two months since my last pro-environment, month-long gimmick. I was due for another change of pace.
³ I've already made two delicious tofu entrees (one that nearly converted my carnivorous brother to the green side), and a wonderful butternut squash casserole.  Wow, it looks like I've given up my manhood for the month of February as well.