Meat Free Mondays

Here at Forever Green, we understand that the first steps to a sustainable lifestyle may be a little daunting. We frequently get asked how can someone make the largest impact on reducing their carbon footprint.

The short answer is a meat free diet. This is because livestock contributes to almost 20% of greenhouse gases for example in the US, a whopping 42% of agricultural emissions come from animal agriculture.

What is Meat Free Monday?

Meat Free Monday is a campaign which aims to encourage the world to slow climate change by reducing the consumption of meat. Launched by Paul, Stella and Mary McCartney in June 2009, the campaign aims to raise awareness of the environmental impact of meat eating and encourage people to meaningfully reduce their greenhouse gas emissions by having at least one meat-free day every week.

Founders of Meat Free Monday Movement - Mary, Paul & Stella McCartney 

The Meat Industry In Numbers

It is usually overlooked just how huge an impact the animal agricultural sector has on the planet. So here are a just a few facts for you to chew on:

• It is estimated that to produce one kilogram of beef, it takes 15,000 litres of fresh water and 25 kilograms of grain.
• Almost 30% of the earth's land surface is currently used for livestock farming.
• If all grain were fed to humans instead of animals, we could feed an estimated 3.5 billion people. In short, industrial livestock farming is not only inefficient but also not equitable.

Do It For Your Health

High meat consumption, especially of red and processed meat, typical of most rich industrialised countries is directly linked with poor health outcomes, including heart disease, stroke, diabetes and various cancers.

Switching to a more plant-based diet could save up to 8m lives a year worldwide by 2050 and lead to healthcare related savings and avoided climate change damages of up to $1.5 trillion.

Do It For Your Ethics

Meat eating is wrong not because there is something special about cows, sheep, chickens or pigs, but because of the harm it causes, whether that harm is caused to animals, humans, or the wider environment.

Challenge Yourself

Why not take on the Meat Free Monday challenge? Collectively this makes an incredible difference to your health, animals, food scarcity and the environment.  In the grand scheme of things, skipping meat for a single day a week is nowhere nearly as important as the above.

 

"None of us, including me, ever do great things.

But we can all do small things, with great love, and together we can do something wonderful."

Mother Teresa