My beef with red meat

For most of my younger life, I loved the occasional steak or burger. The thought of a nice juicy steak still makes my mouth water, but I know too well that I can't enjoy red meat any more.
     The reason? About 10 or 12 years ago, I started to notice that if I ate red meat for dinner, I didn't sleep well, and the food would stay in my stomach, seemingly for days. I wasn't digesting it properly any more, and it was giving me heartburn.
     Now the medical researchers are telling us that red meat and processed meats are pretty much for sure a major cause of colon cancer, and they contribute to coronary disease. I'm guessing that all the antibiotics in cattle and the chemicals in bacon and salami are coming back to haunt us. (Will this week's news about red meat cause children to wear cow costumes for Halloween...?)
     I weaned myself off of beef years ago, but I still eat the occasional piece of pork or a tiny portion of lamb when I'm feeling the need. I figure a couple of times a year isn't catastrophic. Instead of red meat, we generally have poultry once or twice a week, fish two or three times a week, and vegetarian the other nights. A plate of pasta with a tasty shrimp sauce makes a great meal with a salad, and you can keep some frozen peeled and de-veined shrimp in the freezer for whenever the urge takes you.
     Colon cancer is an awful disease, something to avoid at all costs. I heartily recommend eating a nice tuna or swordfish steak, or even better a nice piece of salmon (my favorite red fish) instead.
     In Japan, where people used to have a very good prospect of longevity, the introduction of a western diet has literally shortened their lives. Where they used to eat fish almost every day, they now eat burgers and fries, and they suffer coronary disease like we do, something that virtually didn't exist there before WWII. It's like a giant science experiment, with the Japanese people the unfortunate lab rats. It's pretty easy to draw the conclusion that the American diet of red meat once or twice a day is killing us, and anyone else who eats like we do.
     So what would happen if people started to eat a lot less red meat? The environment would improve, because the South Americans wouldn't need to continually clear cut the Amazon jungle to raise cattle, there'd be less methane gas from ruminants, and there would be fewer cases of colon cancer and heart disease, lowering our national medical bills. Sounds like a giant upside to giving up something that really isn't good for us.
     When I gave up beef, it was only hard when I was in a restaurant where I could smell a steak, but then when my own meal came - usually seafood - the feeling passed, and I enjoyed my meal without the slightest guilt, and I slept very well afterwards. It wasn't a hard price to pay.