Meatless Monday: Bigger Than Recycling?

Today is Meatless Monday. Tomorrow is America Recycles Day.

They’re both very important ways to protect our planet, but you’ve probably been recycling for over a decade, so let’s talk about the growing Meatless Monday movement.

More than 50 percent of Americans are familiar with the concept and nearly one in five are already doing it. Even your grandmother may have read about it in AARP magazine. This Meatless Monday thing? It’s BIG.

Who’s into it? Oh, just people like Oprah, Gywneth Paltrow, Al Gore and Sir Paul McCartney. Even big-name omnivore chefs and foodies like Mario Batali, Padma Lakshmi and Wolfgang Puck are doing it.

And it’s no wonder, because according to the UN, raising animals for food is one of the biggest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions. It’s also one of the leading causes of resource depletion as it takes more land, water and energy to produce meat than it does to grow foods for a plant-based diet.

By reducing our intake of meat, eggs and dairy, we’re helping protect the planet and we’re helping protect animals, more than nine billion of whom are raised and killed each year in the U.S. alone. Without adequate laws to protect them, farmed animals are routinely subjected to practices so cruel, it would likely lead to criminal prosecution if those same abuses were inflicted upon the dogs and cats with whom we share our homes.

So how do you get started? It’s easy: Join the growing movement dedicated to choosing meat-free foods at least once a week – Meatless Mondays.

Already a vegetarian? Consider the staggering greenhouse gas impact of cheese and choose vegan foods on Mondays. And don’t let your family, friends and coworkers be the last to learn all the many reasons why reducing your meat consumption can positively impact your health, the planet and animals.

Share this great video from the Humane Society of the United States to give them a quick and entertaining rundown of the who, why and how of Meatless Monday: