The Red, White, and Green

It seems the environmental problems we face are so overwhelming and the possible solutions so enormous and complex, it’s easy to be paralyzed into inaction. But when I first heard about the Meatless Monday movement (which I highlighted in the RWG Earth Day post), I thought, What a brilliant idea for a simple change that could have monumental impact.

 
The Meatless Monday movement, which works in association with the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, is as straightforward as it sounds: Every Monday, forgo meat. For those who the very mention of “vegetarian” conjures up visions of sprouts and Tofurky, consider that many of your favorite healthy and budget friendly foods — like veggie chili, eggplant parmigiana, and falafel — are already vegetarian.

And then consider that if every American were to make this minimal sacrifice once a week, the resulting reduction in greenhouse gas emissions would be the equivalent of all of us switching from normal cars to Toyota hybrids.

The Meatless Monday movement is especially persuasive because it’s not only for tree huggers:

• Concerned about your health? According to Meatless Monday, Americans consume 8 oz. of meat a day — that’s 45 percent more than the USDA recommends. And excess meat consumption is linked to a plethora of illnesses, including heart disease, cancer, and diabetes.
• Consider yourself patriotic? If every American gave up meat on Mondays for a year, it would save 12 billion gallons of gasoline — helping to free our country’s dependence on foreign oil.
• Worried about possible health pandemics like swine flu? By reducing your meat consumption, you lessen the demand on the factory farms — described by University of California, Irvine, professor Mike Davis as “vast excremental hells, containing tens of thousands of animals with weakened immune systems suffocating in heat and manure while exchanging pathogens at blinding velocity with their fellow inmates” – that were created to supply our country’s ever-growing appetite for meat. 

Lost your appetite for meat tonight? Here’s what I’ll be making this Meatless Monday, thanks to this wonderful recipe posted on the MM site:

And remember, if not eating meat for a whole day seems too overwhelming at first, try replacing just one meal on Monday with a meatless one. Can’t bear to part with meat at all? Start by eating a smaller cut of meat. With a fresh salad and a baked potato, you won’t even notice the difference between an 8 oz. steak and a 6 oz. one.

–Jennifer Grayson

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