Are you still trying to make your new year’s resolutions before the ball drops on 2017? Consider adding Meatless Monday to your list.
Meatless Monday was founded in 2003 by Sid Lerner in association with the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
The movement sprang from a simple equation: When The Surgeon General released the Healthy People 2010 report in 2000, it specifically called for a 15% reduction in saturated fat in the American diet. Since saturated fat in the diet is almost exclusively of animal origin and one day of the week is just under 15% of the week, the campaign began by encouraging people to refrain from eating meat one day a week to help reach this goal.
Since then, the focus has expanded to not only how skipping meat one day a week is good for you and great for our nation’s health, but also to how it is better for the planet. Going meat free one day a week minimizes water usage, reduces greenhouse gases and reduces fuel dependence. Thus, the movement has grown in popularity around the globe. Paul McCartney has even pushed Meat Free Monday in England.
The focus isn’t on becoming vegetarian or vegan, just simply choosing to have three meals made up of vegetables, fruits, and grains---no meat---on Mondays. If people are concerned about good sources of protein for these meals, they can look to nut butters, beans and tofu.
Resources:
http://www.meatlessmonday.com/
http://www.meatlessmonday.com/about-us/why-meatless/
http://www.jhsph.edu/research/centers-and-institutes/johns-hopkins-center-for-a-livable-future/projects/MMP_old/
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=129025298
https://gardein.com/meatless-monday/
http://greatist.com/health/7-alternative-proteins-meatless-mondays