August 18, 2011

Meatless Mondays

Back in March, we profiled Alicia Silverstone’s book about “flirting” with a vegan diet, The Kind Diet: A Simple Guide to Feeling Great, Losing Weight, and Saving the Planet. Along with establishing a better relationship with animals and nature, Silverstone swears that following a vegan diet also provides beauty benefits like healthier skin and weight loss. While not every girl may be able to totally eliminate animal products from her diet, Meatless Mondays is a great way to start.

Meatless Mondays is a worldwide campaign to encourage omnivores (plant and meat eaters) to eat meatless meals at least once a week to reduce the harmful health and environmental effects of meat intake and production. Although eating meat may be part of even the greenest girl’s routine, there are many reasons to eliminate, or at least reduce, your meat intake. Even Oprah recently joined the movement after sitting down with Michael Pollan, author of The Omnivore’s Dilemma. Here’s why you should follow  Ms. Winfrey’s lead and commit to going meatless every Monday:

• Animal agriculture accounts for 18% of the greenhouse gas emissions responsible for global climate change and contributes to environmental problems such as pollution, deforestation, and acid rain.
• As 90% of the world’s soy harvest and one-third of the world’s cereal harvest are used for animal feed, a non-vegetarian diet requires seven times more land and substantially more energy than a vegetarian one.
• By avoiding the high cholesterol and fat levels found in animal flesh, vegetarians reduce the risk of developing chronic diseases, such as heart disease and diabetes, which account for seven out of ten deaths in North America.
• In eliminating meat, vegetarians focus their diet on plant-based foods and consume more of the vitamins and nutrients found in fruits and vegetables.

We know what you’re thinking, “Those are all good reasons, but how can I make my favourite meals meatless AND delicious?” Luckily, there are many great resources for tasty vegetarian and vegan meals, such as Meat Free Mondays and the Post Punk Kitchen. With so many options, every Monday can be healthy, green, and delicious!

For more information please visit the Meat Eater’s Guide To Climate Change and Health and Meatless Mondays.

By: Fatima Reyes, LifestyleBOOST Editorial Intern

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