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Meatless Monday: 5 Reasons Why It Matters
Meatless Monday is a non-profit initiative whose goal is to cut the meat consumption in the U.S. by 15% in order to improve the health of our nation’s citizens and reduce global warming. How do they hope to accomplish this? You got it, ask citizens to cut out meat one day per week in favor of fruits and vegetables. To some this may seem like a push to turn us all into vegetarians, but I assure you this is not the case. Cutting meat (all forms of beef, pork, poultry and fowl) out of our diet one day per week can make an enormous change to our health and the state of our planet. Well-known Chef’s and public figures are on board with this initiative and I encourage everyone to think about joining them. Our own Jenny even interviewed a Mom who has introduced Meatless Monday into her children’s school lunch program. I’ve been cooking at least one vegetarian meal a week for two years now and can attest that it is incredibly easy and, in most cases, incredibly delicious to give up meat for a day. Here are some interesting facts you ought to know about why your family should give up meat once a week:
1. Reduce your risk for CANCER and HEART DISEASE: Hundreds of studies cite the benefit of diets high in fruits in vegetables to reducing the risk of cancer and heart disease.
2. Decrease your risk of DIABETES: Research shows that diets high in red meat and over processed meat increases the risk of Type 2 Diabetes.
3. Fight OBESITY: Recent studies have proven that diets low in meat have lower body weights and body mass indices.
4. Save the PLANET: The meat industry generates nearly 1/5 of the man made greenhouse gas emissions responsible for accelerating climate change worldwide. The meat industry generates more greenhouse gases than the entire transportation industry! Giving up meat for one day for a year would be the equivalent of taking 19.2 million cars off the road for an entire year.
5. Save our NATURAL RESOURCES: Producing one pound of beef for consumption requires roughly 1,800 – 2,500 gallons of water. If all of us gave up meat for one day this precious natural resource would be saved.
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8 Comments
[...] and I surely couldn’t have said it better myself. My modern life is all about moderation and meatless Mondays, but my favorite home-cooked meal has to be a gorgeously grilled, juicy, thick steak. There is [...]
How to Grill a Perfect Steak | The Family Kitchen commented on Sep 30 10 at 3:26 pmLiz the Chef commented on Sep 06 10 at 6:01 pmI think it is a wonderful goal. It’s easier for our family to do “meatless Friday” due to schedules, but that counts too!
Dee, Social Work/Art Therapy commented on Sep 07 10 at 12:29 pmI’m on board! There are meatless foods that can give you a complete protein: rice and beans, for example.
Gina commented on Sep 07 10 at 1:01 pmWe do a lot of meatless meals throughout the week. In addition to the health & environment benefits, it helps us keep our food bill in check too. The reality is that there are so many other ways to enjoy protein beyond meat.
msntnkrbll commented on Sep 07 10 at 1:02 pmWe started out with meatless Mondays, and here we are three months later we are meatless Monday-Friday and enjoy a little meat on the weekends. Morningstar Farms meatless products have made the transition easy. I’ve lost 10 pounds!!!!
Kelsey/TheNaptimeChef commented on Sep 09 10 at 2:41 pm@Liz – yes, any night of the week is a great night to “designate” as meatless. @Dee – yes, there are plenty of meatless foods that provide wonderful protein and nutritional value! @Gina – I agree! @MSNTNKRBLL – That’s great to hear, I am so glad you have had a smooth, healthy transition!
Casey commented on Sep 12 10 at 2:09 pmFor me, is started as Meatless Monday. But now it’s only one or two days per week that I eat meat. And I’ve lost 10 lbs in the process without trying. The key has been GARDEIN – wonderful tasting, meat-free protein.
roofing sheets commented on Sep 14 11 at 6:34 pmfor the person who posted last week re the cost of steel sheet ,it realy depends where you go to buy it, z45 is around seven forty pounds per metric ton and standard is around £650 per ton- hope this helps
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