Earth Protect Blog

By Sarah Kuta

Special to The Denver Post

Throughout her 20s, Laura Posiak-Trider wrestled with concerns about the industrial meat industry, opting to eat a mostly vegetarian diet when she could. She thought she had to choose between two stark options: eat meat and feel bad about it, or remove it from her diet entirely.

Now, she’s adopted a lifestyle that falls somewhere in the middle, and she’s spreading the word about how to be a more ethical meat-eater through her Steamboat Springs businesses.

At Meatbar — an intimate, European-style, reservation only charcuterie restaurant with just six tables — Posiak-Trider serves as the restaurant’s hostess, chef, server and bartender. She also runs Laura the Butcher, a charcuterie catering company and private butchery, as well as Meatskool, an educational venture offer-ing classes and workshops for kids and teens.

“What I was feeling in my 20s, and what I think a lot of meateaters feel, is either ‘I can eat meat and just feel guilty about it and ignore that industry and just not think about it,’ or, ‘If I feel like I have to take a stand, my only option is vegetarianism,’ ” said Posiak-Trider, 33. “And the reality is, that’s truly just not the case. There is a world of ethical meat-eating that starts with your local farmer or just small farms in general.”