Meatless Mondays may be new to Canada, but our campaign is part of an international movement that brings together individuals, environmental, health and animal welfare associations, businesses and even governments.
We believe that going meatfree at least one day each week is a powerful way to reduce our ecological footprint and reconnect with foods that are nutritious, delicious and cruelty-free.
While Canada’s Meatless Mondays is off to an exciting start (Did you see us in the Toronto Star?) the success of meatless days in other cities and countries demonstrates that the sky’s the limit for imaginative and dedicated campaigns like this one.
Here are a few success stories from around the world:
- Meatless Monday (US) – In April, the City of San Francisco endorsed the US Meatless Monday campaign which is being led by our friends at the Bloomburg School of Public Health at Johns Hopkins University. The campaign has successfully introduced healthy meal options into Baltimore schools for Meatless Mondays.
- Meatfree Monday (UK) – With help from Sir Paul McCartney, the UK campaign has addressed the European Parliament in 2009. They’ve recently introduced Meatfree Mondays at schools in the Brighton area. They’ve also lined up endorsements from several dozen celebrities (including Ricky Gervais, Gwyneth Paltrow and Alec Baldwin).
- Ghent’s “Veggiedag” (Belgium) – About a year ago, the city of Ghent became the first city to embrace a fully vegetarian day (Thursdays) to fight climate change. Ghent’s Deputy Mayor estimates that the voluntary veggie day saves 7-10 kilograms of grain and 15,000 liters of water for every kilogram (2.2 pounds) of meat that is not consumed.
- Lundi Sans Viande (QC) – Not a different country, but our allies in Quebec have successfully attracted a barrage of media articles and the support of veteran NHL’er Georges Laraque. There’s hope for us yet, Canada!
So don’t be afraid to dream big! Here in Ontario, it’s a municipal election year; ask your local candidates what they’re doing to encourage healthy, sustainable eating. Tell them the UN estimates that animal agriculture is responsible for 18% of climate change. Remind them that meatless meals can help prevent or reverse heart disease, type-2 diabetes and obesity. Ask them to take the Meatless Monday pledge and direct people to meatlessmondays.ca for recipes and other information.
Or if you’ve got a better idea, contact us. We’re only limited by our imagination.
David Alexander, Executive Director
Toronto Vegetarian Association
PS For those in the area, the TVA will host our first ever Compassion Week at the end of May. Check out what we’ve got lined up at compassionweek.ca
