Once a Week, Leave Out the Meat!

Meatless Mondays: An International Conservation Movement

It is not easy to give up any of life’s tasty pleasures. Whether it entails foregoing chocolate during Lent, fasting every year for Yom Kippur, or rolling from one diet to the next, most of us have some experience with self-deprivation in the food realm. People do it for a variety of reasons: religious, spiritual, ethical, or health-related. As more and more people begin to appreciate the dire consequences of global warming, however, a new reason has emerged: environmental protection.

For me, both fasting and extreme dieting sound like torture, as they do for most Americans. Yet I firmly believe that it is easy for all of us to eat delicious, nutritious, and thoroughly enjoyable meals while simultaneously reducing our carbon footprint. One simple way to do this is to join Meatless Mondays, an international movement to go vegetarian one day a week. Even the most avidly carnivorous humans tend to enjoy a variety of plant foods in their diet, so why not take one day a week to celebrate the greens on our plate? Instead of eating chicken wings or steak on Monday night, make a large bowl of pasta, liberally douse it with pesto, and sprinkle in some toasted pine nuts and sun-dried tomatoes. Or you could cook up a large bowl of vegetarian chili and enjoy it with warm cornbread and cheddar cheese. Going meatless doesn’t have to be a chore. Instead, think of it as a way to be creative with your food and explore new cuisines and diverse ingredients. Cutting out meat will only increase the variety of dishes and flavors you are exposed to.

If my tantalizing menu descriptions have not yet convinced you, consider this: livestock production accounts for nearly one fifth of all man-made greenhouse gas emissions. That means that hamburgers and hot dogs along with every other meat product are contributing more to global warming than all the planes, cars, trucks, and motorcycles in the world. Feedlots require inordinate amounts of fossil fuels and fresh water, release methane and carbon dioxide, pollute nearby rivers and lakes, and dramatically decrease species diversity. Here are some relevant statistics:

• Every calorie of beef produced in the US requires 40 calories of fossil fuel energy. Every calorie of plant protein requires just 2.2 calories of fossil fuel energy.
• If every American joined the Meatless Mondays campaign for a single year, we would save 12 billion gallons of gasoline.
• 30% of all land in the world is being used to raise livestock. 70% of the Amazon rain forest has been cut down and turned into pastures.
• Livestock production is the single greatest contributor to water pollution.
• 2,000 gallons of water is used to produce a single pound of beef.
• In terms of water consumption, eating one hamburger is equivalent to showering for four hours straight.

Now that I have adequately scared you into submission, go to www.meatlessmonday.com to join the movement. Individuals, organizations, school districts, colleges, and even entire cities have pledged to this great cause. Remember, Meatless Mondays is not meant to be a tortuous trial. It is a celebration of the variety of healthy, delicious, local, and sustainable foods available all around us. Every Monday as you enjoy your portabella mushroom panini or pad thai with sautéed tofu, you can feel proud to be part of this global effort to protect our limited resources and our increasingly fragile planet.

~Sara