Meatless Mondays

October 19, 2009

Foodista recently signed up to participate in Meatless Mondays, a campaign run in association with the Bloomberg School of Public Health at Johns Hopkins University. The goal of Meatless Mondays is to help the environment and improve personal health through reducing meat consumption.

There are many reasons to eat less meat and fewer animal products. For one, a vegetarian or vegan diet is less detrimental to the environment: a vegetarian diet uses almost 5 times less land to produce than a meat-heavy diet, meaning a reduced carbon footprint. Vegetarian diets may help you lose weight and reduce the risk of chronic illnesses such as cancer, heart disease, and diabetes. Vegetarian diets are kinder to animals, since none are slaughtered for the vegetarian table. In addition, vegetarian diets are often cheaper than diets that include meat.

We're not encouraging all you die-hard carnivores to eliminate meat completely, but reducing your intake in whatever quantity you wish can make a difference in all of these areas. If you've been thinking about reducing your meat consumption or testing the waters before taking a permanent plunge into vegetarianism, Meatless Mondays are a great place to start. Have fun, get creative, and try experimenting with foods you've never cooked or eaten before: consider it a culinary challenge. Who knows, Meatless Mondays might even turn into Meatless Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. Join the movement: it's a whole lot easier than you might think and can make an real impact.

Need inspiration? Here are a few recipes to get you started.