[digg=http://digg.com/food_drink/This_Neutral_thing_is_really_catching_onh]This past week, the BC Liberals unveiled the budget for British Columbia. At the forefront of discussion surrounding the budget is the government’s new carbon-tax, which, luckily is “revenue-neutral”.

Phew, thanks for that.

But wait… before we hop on the BC Liberal bandwagon there is a little more to this. We decided to do a little analysis of our own and it seems that there is room for arbitrary manipulation within the tax rebate process (see below). Arbitrary manipulation is not very “neutral” is it?

Tax rebates are nice, but stopping climate change is of a mutual benefit to us all. So the jury is out for now while we wait to see how well the BC Liberal’s “revenue-neutral” carbon-tax is implemented to meet this end. We at Woodstock do very little that is not “neutral” (like Switzerland) and we applaud the Liberals for embracing the “neutral” concept — because really when it comes down to it neutrality is the way of the future.

All genuinely “neutral” concepts are rooted in achieving balance (just like Yoga). Meat Neutral does this in two ways.

At a smaller scale we offset our meat consumption with vegetables. A true Meat Neutral dish will leave you with an unmistakable sense of balance between meat, vegetable, and all things food.

At the macro scale Meat Neutral balances lifestyles. It entices an equal number of people from each of the other diets. It fits in an important place amongst other lifestyles to close the “Meat Neutral Loop” (see below). Meat Neutral is an alternative to vegan and vegetarian lifestyles in the same way it is an alternative to a meat and potatoes lifestyle. Do you feel the balance?

Of course, the “neutral” concept has been applied many different things. For more on neutrality, see Cheat Neutral and Switzerland.

Lobby for tax incentives for meat neutrality!

– the woodstock collective

Last evening, Woodstock was graced by the presence of a very special guest. Daniel’s niece, Tegan, made an appearance at Woodstock and had her first encounter with Meat Neutral. Her reaction? Babblebabble…puke…burp…heeheeoggglgogbolbe

No Erika, she didn’t puke out of disgust. Rather, it was baby’s way of saying “wow, this is what I’ve been missing all my life.”

I have a feeling most babies would have also puked at the spread (a vomit of joy that is). Stuffed Portabella Mushaburger stuffed with Italian Sausage, Salmon Artichoke dip, baked brie, yam chips, bruschetta, and the first revision of the fabled pie pie — the unfinished masterpiece.

As we can see from the pictures, Tegan had a death grip on the plates, and couldn’t get enough. A true vegetarian, through and through.

We also had another special guest at the table, Russ and Jacquie’s yet to be born child, no doubt kicking in the womb at the delicious bites of “meat neutral” cuisine of her mother. It looks like we are ushering in a new generation of meat eating vegetarians.

Over the course of writing this cookbook, we have embarked on a journey pushing the boundaries of traditional cuisine. Quite often we begin our explorations with “traditional vegetarian” cuisine and attempt to capture of the essence of what is missing… (meat). To recall one anecdote, a couple of weeks ago I was investigating new combinations of food, trying out new recipe ideas. One of my creations was Tofu Fajitas.

Tofu Fajitas?? Sounds crazy — I know. Maybe in all reality we are a little crazy.

To give our readers a background, I have spent considerable time in Mexico and toured throughout the different gastronomic regions, from the dry northern deserts of Tamaulipas where baby goat is a delicacy, the rainforests of Veracruz home of the Jalapeno pepper, ridden horseback through the avocado ranches of Michocan, and eaten the succulent pollo asados of the Yucatan – all the while taking notes, wafting the aromas, and savoring the culinary creativity.

In all my Mexican travels, I have never come across a Tofu Fajita, which reaffirms the “meat culture” of the land. But sitting there in my Victorian kitchen, my adventurous side overtook me and I decided to try it. I sliced the tofu with ease, all 16 layers of my Shun knife effortlessly manipulating the firm soy. The onions, the chiles, the tomatoes and the capsicum blending and fusing to create an experience going beyond the sum of its parts. The Woodstock Collective seated ourselves around the table, and dolloped the ingredients of the pan on to the maize tortillas, and brought the creation to our lips.

The result – well sometimes you can only go so far. I learned an important lesson that day, while it is important to explore and to innovate, we must also stay true to our roots. Because without our roots we have no balance. The tofu fajitas were just missing something…

Meat.

Okay, so we’ve thrown the term around somewhat, but what is this Meat Neutral thing really all about?

To put it simply, Meat Neutral is a lifestyle.

Fusion. Innovation. Dialogue.

These are a few adjectives that come to mind. Essentially it’s about being open minded, and pushing our comfort zones to try new things and expose ourselves to new ideas.

The Meat Neutral Formula is simple: Vegan food + Meat = Enlightened Vegetarianism (i.e. Goodness)

Now some of you might say, well that’s nothing new, that’s just regular food. Well yes, to those of us at the Woodstock Collective, it is just regular food. But we would like to expose others to the wonders of enlightened vegetarianism.

Some of the critics are appalled by such a notion: “In this day and age, with such pressing environmental issues as scare resources and expanded animal rights, how can they actually be encouraging and promoting the consumption of meat? … Who are these Meat Neutral guys anyways… are they a right-wing propaganda machine from Alberta!?”

To respond to this valid “vegetarian” critique, I must state once and for all that Meat Neutral is not about promoting an increase in beef (Albertan or not), rather its about neutrality – kind of like Switzerland.

It’s about bringing a balance to your eating habits and offsetting your meat consumption with vegetables. Its about exploring the wonders of the vegan world, something often overlooked in our burger and fries, steak and potato food culture.

Our goal is to throw the carnivores a tofu bone. To introduce people to new vegetarian cuisine while staying true to our meat roots.

Meat Neutral… the eve of a renaissance is upon us.