On Wednesday, The Washington Post reported that the “Meatless Mondays” campaign launched by Sir Paul McCartney in 2009 is gaining momentum. Restaurants, public schools, hospitals and government officials across the country are embracing and implementing the idea.
This month high-profile chef, Mario Batali, joined the campaign, offering two vegetarian entrées on Mondays at each of his 14 restaurants. In October, Baltimore City Public Schools stopped offering meat on Mondays to its 82,000 students, estimating a 120,000-pound reduction in meat purchases per school year as a result.
Similar initiatives are underway to reduce meat consumption in the U.S., such as the “Balanced Menu Challenge,” spearheaded by the group Healthcare Without Harm, which asks hospitals to commit to a 20 percent reduction in meat purchases. Thirty-two U.S. hospitals have signed on so far.
The idea of a meat-free day is also gaining ground in the European Union, receiving an official endorsement from the city of Ghent in Belgium last year.
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