Yep, we are there, The Meatless Monday campaign has hit the big time. We are helping to mitigate Climate Change and make the world healthier one meal at a time.
ASPEN, Colo. — Friction between the health-and-eco-minded hippies who came here for a Rocky Mountain High in the 1970s and the super-wealthy second-homers who followed from the intersection of Hollywood and Hedge Fund is an old story here at 8,000 feet. But now there is a new potential skirmish line: Meatless Mondays.
new nationwide pro-veggie effort, however — aimed at persuading people to go meatless at least one day a week — has been embraced here more than in any other city in America. At least 20 institutions and restaurants, including Syzygy, are offering vegetarian choices on Mondays under a plan announced this month.
Here's a history of the Meatless Monday movement which goes back to World War I and had a resurgence in 2003 by The John Hopkins Center For A Livable Future who recognized the need for nutrition and food education. When the The United Nations released it's 2006 report on Climate Change, it's study recognized that 18 % of greenhouse gases globally was caused by livestock production. That brought in another element to the sound reasoning behind Meatless Monday. Reduce your meat consumption and you are part of the solution to mitigating climate change. Those two main elements included the benefits of protecting public health and combating the extreme water and land uses of livestock production, which today with our growing world population is increasingly unsustainable.
Of course here on Daily Kos we have our own Meatless Monday history. I started writing my weekly series Macca's Meatless Monday in July 3 years years ago. We've had a great time, helped a lot of people get healthy and helped to mitigate climate change by reducing our consumption of meat and meat products. On my second anniversary in July 2010 I was joined by guest Chris Elam, Program Director of Meatless Monday who had this to say
Chris Elam:
I’m truly honored that Macca’s Meatless Monday has asked me to help celebrate its 2-year anniversary. When I started at MM, about 1 ½ years ago, there were only 2 blogs doing regular MM features: MMM and Kim O’Donnel at washingtonpost.com. Now, there are nearly 100! There are MM programs in 10 countries, in cities from San Francisco to Sao Paulo, across entire public school systems in Baltimore and Oakland, in over 30 college campuses, in celebrity restaurants from Batali to Puck, etc. etc. The movement has indeed grown. And it’s thanks to important voices like MMM that together we continue to get out this important message!
It's been a fun and exciting road, but it is just the beginning. Meatless Monday is now recognized by 50% of those in US and is practiced by 18% of US households. Thanks to all who have supported us and in turn are helping to make this a healthier and greener world.
You can find us here at Daily Kos Mondays @ 6p eastern for discussion of the benefits of a less meat diet and to do some cooking and share delicious meatless recipes!
What would a Meatless Monday diary be without recipes? So here are some from the Meatless Monday crew
Thanks to Laughing Planet for the head's up on this!