Meatless Monday is an international campaign that encourages people to not eat meat on Mondays to improve health worldwide.
Now, it could be the early hint of the 2021 Green New "Scam" to get away from cow "emissions." Holy Cow! Really? No grilled steaks? No hamburgers? But it's also "not a bad idea" once in a while. Here are a few reasons...
The March 2012 study by Harvard researchers revealed strong evidence that a heavy red meat diet puts you at risk for cancer, heart disease and diabetes. The study recommends that people reduce processed or unprocessed red meat (including bacon, hot dogs and deli sandwich meats) and replace these foods with poultry, fish, vegetables, nuts and whole grains.
Meatless Monday focuses its initiative on Mondays for multiple reasons. Monday is typically the beginning of the work week, the day when individuals settle back into their weekly routine. A 2009 trial published in the American Journal of Preventative Medicine reported that two thirds of participants responded with improvements in their overall health, eating habits and physical activity levels.
During this time, meat was rationed along with sugar, gasoline and other commodies.
The campaign returned with World War II under Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
In 2003, Meatless Monday was restarted as a public health awareness program. It has taken root worldwide.
Meat-Free Mondays exist in the United Kingdom, as well as, São Paulo with government support by the Brazilian Vegetarian Society; Australia; the city of Ghent, Belgium; the Flemish government. Israeli magazine, Al Hashulchan (On the Table) introduced the "Sheni Tzimchoni Initiative" (Vegetarian Monday) in June 2009.
On April 6, 2010, San Francisco became the first US city to officially declare Mondays to be "meat free" and several other countries have meat-free days, including Canada. In March 2012, the Government of Croatia also supported the initiative, excluding meat from the menu of the Ministry of Environment and Nature Protection on Mondays.
I started a meat-free day in our kitchen once a month, but that does not mean I turned us into vegetarians.
A vegetarian follows the practice of choosing plant-based diets (fruits, vegetables), with or without the inclusion of dairy products or eggs, and with the exclusion of meat (red meat, poultry, and seafood).
Vegans, on the other hand, reject the use of animal products for any purpose, including eliminating any form of animal product (from meat to diary including milk, eggs and cheese) from their diet.
While red meat comes with health warnings, vegetarians and vegans must be careful to be sure to get all the daily vitamin nutrition their body needs.
Going Meatless Saves Money: There is another "upside" to reducing meat on the menu even once a month. Meat's expensive and not putting meat on the menu even once a month saves money!
Going Meatless is Healthy: Meatless meals with plant-based foods may reduce your risk of cancer, heart disease and diabetes, but eating meatless is also less costly. We save money! That's one of our goals, and we proved it true.
Meat is expensive if you have not noticed. Even buying our meat in bulk at Sam's Club, we've saved a bundle by planning a meatless meal just one day a week. Yup! By making just one day a week -- meatless -- we've reduced our food budget and saved money.
7 Tasty Meatless Meals: It's a fact. When you go meatless, you can still eat delicious foods you want to make again and again. Meatless meal ideas include (1) pasta (2) beans (3) quinoa (4) couscous (5) rice (6) tofu (7) fresh, steamed, sauteed, grilled, baked, and broiled vegetables.
If you decide to go meatless once a week, or once a month, or even now and then, you can choose different cuisines for your meatless meal to vary up the taste and texture. Asian, Mexican, Greek, Italian and Middle Eastern cuisines routinely feature meatless recipes.
Many people love to serve macaroni and cheese for their Meatless Monday. A recipe I like to make for our Meatless Monday is a nice green salad, but it's not hearty enough for my honey, so I pair it with potato burritos. It is my honey's recipe, and it is YUMmy!
Meatless Monday is a non-profit initiative of The Monday Campaigns Inc. in association with the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Center for a Livable Future. Meatless Monday was founded in 2003 by marketing professional Sid Lerner. The program follows the nutrition guidelines developed by the USDA
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