Meatless Monday is a non-profit organization with a lofty goal – to reduce worldwide meat consumption by 15%. Meatless Monday is a non-profit initiative of The Monday Campaigns, in association with the Johns Hopkins’ Bloomberg School of Public Health. They’ve created the Meatless Monday campaign in order to raise awareness, and promote a healthier lifestyle.
Their argument is that each day is just over 14% of each week in terms of time. If nobody ate meat on a Monday, then meat consumption would decrease by about that amount.
Why Meatless?
Even if you’re not ready to give up meat entirely, having one day a week where you eat no meat has a number of health benefits, including:
- Reduced cancer risk
- Lower incidence of heart disease
- Reduced risk of developing adult-onset diabetes
- Curbing obesity
- Improved life expectancy
In addition to the health benefits, you’re also saving the environment in the following ways:
- Reducing your carbon footprint
- Minimizing water usage (livestock drink a lot of water)
- Helping to reduce fossil fuel dependence
Why Mondays?
You might be thinking: “but Mondays are rubbish enough already, without giving up meat!” The truth is that for most of us in the West, Monday has been enshrined as a day of new action, new beginnings – of buckling down and working hard and trying to make a good start to the week. Whether we succeed or fail, we’re used to trying.
All of the Monday Campaigns are based on this idea: that it’s easier to start something hard on a Monday, when everything else is starting too.
Where Do I Sign Up?
You don’t have to do anything – now that you know about it, you’re already involved. Tell people, do it yourself, or try and get it started at your office or college. This kind of campaign only works well in groups, so get all your friends to do it with you.
Meatless FAQs
Q – Is a meatless diet always healthier?
A – No. If you eat nothing but toast and cheese, you’re going to get fat and unhealthy.
Q – Should I avoid exercising on the day I don’t eat meat?
A – There’s no need to avoid exercise with Meatless Monday. A healthy meatless diet will provide more than enough energy, protein and other nutrients to fuel all of your usual activities including your workouts. If you’re worried, drink a high-carb protein shake.
Q – Should I be worried about getting enough protein on Meatless Monday?
A – No, there is no reason that a vegetarian diet should be lacking in protein, especially if you eat from our list of high protein foods. Protein deficiency is rare, even in vegetarians, so you have nothing to fear from skipping meat one day a week.