Give Up Meat On Mondays for the Planet
posted by: GinaMarie Cheeseman 146 days ago
Last September, the chair of the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (UNIPCC), Dr. Rajendra Pachauri asked people to reduce their intake of meat. “In terms of immediacy of action and the feasibility of bringing about reductions in a short period of time, it clearly is the most attractive opportunity,” said Pachauri. “Give up meat for one day [a week] initially, and decrease it from there,' said the Indian economist, who is a vegetarian.”
Meatless Monday, a non-profit initiative of the Monday Campaigns, in association with the John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and 27 other public health schools, is asking people to give up meat on Mondays. The goal of Meatless Monday is to reduce meat consumption 15 percent.
Livestock industry’s effects on the environment
Meatless Monday lists the benefits to the environment of eating less meat:
- Reduce your carbon footprint. The meat industry generates an estimated one-fifth of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions. The demand for meat continues to grow every year, so giving up meat one day a week can help slow down the trend.
- Help reduce fossil fuel dependence. It takes an average 40 calories of fossil fuel energy for every calorie of feed lot beef in the U.S. It only takes 2.2 calories of fossil fuel energy to grow plant-based protein.
A report by the Center for Science in the Public Interest stated that methane produce by cattle “has a global warming effect equal to that of 33 million automobiles,” the Center reports in its book Six Arguments for a Greener Diet.”
Henning Steinfeld, author of a 2006 report by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the U.S. called livestock “one of the most significant contributors to today’s most serious environmental problems.” Livestock cause 37 percent of GHG emissions, according to the report.
Read more: global warming
comments
I already eat meat a maximum of 5 times a week. That's not 5 days, that's 5 TIMES. 5 dinners/week. It's really, really, really easy to do. Oh, and fish = meat. We've overfished the oceans, and I think it's more selfish to insist on tuna sandwiches at school lunches on Fridays than to have a hearty local and seasonal vegetable soup and a thick slice of quality (read, not bleached + "enriched") bread with hormone-free, local butter.
send green star | flag as inappropriate
why is this inappropriate?
Give up meat on 1 day a week. I would give it up 5 days a week if only O would leave
"To the land of Oz"
send green star | flag as inappropriate
why is this inappropriate?
With 1/3 of the world population being Christian (2.1 billion by the last estimation), and with the tradition of Christians not eating meat on Fridays, I really don't understand the option for Mondays. The Friday option would have a lot more chances of being a success all over the world. Could someone re-think the week day? G Cardoso, Portugal
send green star | flag as inappropriate
why is this inappropriate?
It wouldn't hurt anyone to not eat meat one day a week. Animals are raised in deplorable conditions, and feel pain and terror when ready to be slaughtered. It is also healthier not to eat alot of meat. I am a vegetarian, and realize most people eat meat. If people would realize how many animals suffer that are killed for food, then maybe some real changes can be made, for compassion and health.
send green star | flag as inappropriate
why is this inappropriate?
Menghini L.,I am very sorry for you that feel RELIGION is an excuse,sounds like a personal problem to me,BUT,none of my buisness,don't know ya,don't wanna!!! Each to their own,including YOU!!!! I am also sorry that you are an APE,I am NOT!! I believe in GOD,and I am Special to God,and God did put food here for us to eat!!! Each to their own!! Eat what you want to eat,maybe that will help you keep your smart mouthed opinions to your self,EAT!! GOD PLEASE BLESS!!! I do not eat meat,but I know LOTS of meat eaters that are ALSO animal Lovers!!!! Have a nice day!!!
send green star | flag as inappropriate
why is this inappropriate?
ps- theyre are many family farms that believe in raising and treating farm animals humanely-do some research then you can have your meat knowing that this creature was always comfortable and treated with respect. Thats what my husband and I do when we cant resist a craving.
send green star | flag as inappropriate
why is this inappropriate?
I am a wildlife animal conservation major and yet I do have a hard time bc our bodies were actually made to be plant eaters (simple AP) and yet I also want to believe that certain animals were put here for humans to eat.No one that wants to eat meat will ever give it up fully regardless of how much they know about the industry and however many sickning articles they read.However, no one should tell someone not to eat what they eat-if there is no compromise there is no hope. For those who wish to be vegetarian your wonderful and strong and very admirable for those who love meat -all I would ever dream of asking you is simply realizing that not every meal has to have meat (something I had to learn myself).Its healthier for your family and your bodies and it teaches them something wonderful about having a voice and sticking with an opinion. Try atleast to have three meals without meat.Youll really be amazed how amazing the meals are!
send green star | flag as inappropriate
why is this inappropriate?
Ms. Lori Childers, I believe religion is such a cheap excuse for doing what we do to animals. What makes you think that you are God's favourite? And, by the way, we are not, as a race, really "meat-eaters". We are basically vegetarian apes which are fit to eat meat when necessary, in case of famine mostly. And we'd eat carcasses mostly, since we have not one natural weapon fit for hunting. Even our teeth are the ones of a vegetarian creature, not surely an omnivorous one (a bear, for example).
Have a nice day.
send green star | flag as inappropriate
why is this inappropriate?
Actually, Catholics have been doing that every Friday for about 2000 years, and people on the continent in Europe probably longer. The official Catholic story goes that it is because Jesus died on a Friday, but the custom is much more ancient. In languages derived from Latin (French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese etc) the name of Friday is Vendredi, Venerdi, Viernes etc. and means "the day of Venus". Fish was one of the symbols of Venus in the Antiquity, and from times immemorial, people in Europe have been eating fish on Friday. Since Fish is also a symbol for Jesus, (his birth coinciding with the new era of the Pisces (fish), the explanation for the tradition was given a new meaning by the Fathers of the Church (for those who don't know what this means: the first theoreticians of the Church in the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD). In those days most of the old "pagan" or "pre-christian" beliefs were incorporated into the new religion by giving them a new meaning, and not forcing people to give up their culture and traditions. This is why all Christian festivals have in fact a pre-christian origin.
To go back to our kettle of fish, so to speak, it is not difficult at all and it is better for health to eat fish maybe 3 times a week, and the rest of the time, mostly vegetable anyway. Bon appetit!
send green star | flag as inappropriate
why is this inappropriate?
Animal Lovers do eat meat!! I stand by what I say!! Fact!!!
send green star | flag as inappropriate
why is this inappropriate?
Facebook account:
Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.
1189501