Confused about meat? Yeah, we are too.

That’s why we’re making July “Meat Month” at The New Food Economy. For the next four weeks, our magazine will explore what the choices we make about purchasing, preparing, and eating meat reveal about who we are.

Along the way, we’ll take a bite out of the biggest issues surrounding meat consumption today, from labeling and animal welfare to environmental impacts and the changing future of protein. We’ll tell stories that help demystify terms like “grass-fed,” “humanely raised,” “cage-free,” and “lab-grown.” And we’ll bring in distinguished guests to hear out your most pressing carnivore conundrums. Each Thursday of the month at 1 p.m., EST, a different expert will answer your questions during a live Twitter Q & A. 

Most of all, we want to hear from you! We’re asking all the conscious carnivores out there to share your meat-related questions, stories, grocery shopping quandaries, and experiences on your favorite social media platform using #carnivoresdilemma and @newfoodeconomy. How do you try to eat meat well? We’ll repost our favorite reader responses, pose your questions to our guest experts, and share our findings at a special session at Slow Food Nations in Denver later this month.

We might not be able to cure the anxiety you feel at the meat case and in the egg aisle. We certainly don’t want to take the pleasure out of your summer barbecues. But by the time the month is over, we hope you’ll have a fuller understanding of the options on the table—and a better sense of how America eats meat.

—The New Food Economy

Alex Fine