Started by Paul, Mary, and Stella McCartney, Meat-Free Mondays is a campaign aimed at combating global warming. According to SupportMFM.org, livestock production is responsible for 18% of global greenhouse gas emissions, which is more than the entire transport sector.
‘Having one designated meat free day a week is actually a meaningful change that everyone can make that goes to the heart of several important political, environmental and ethical issues all at once,’ says Sir Paul McCartney. ‘For instance, it not only addresses pollution, but better health, the ethical treatment of animals, global hunger and community and political activism.’
With celebrity supporters including Kate Bosworth, Sophie Ellis Bextor and Chris Martin, we thought it was worth an investigation. We spoke to the experts to find out the pros and cons to excluding meat from our diets for just one day.
FIGHTING FOR THEIR RIGHT
According to the Worldwatch Institute and SupportMFM.org, approximately 56 billion animals are raised and slaughtered for food each year, and of this figure, 67% are grown on factory farms.
‘Factory-farmed animals are fed on growth hormones, antiseptics and pesticides, and are raised under inhumane conditions,’ says clinical nutritionist, Jill Fraser-Halkett. So when you do eat meat, try and make sure you’re eating grass-fed, responsibly-farmed meat, she recommends. Not only are the animals treated humanely, but there won’t be any risks to your health.
‘Farmed meats are usually pumped with antibiotics and include large amounts of nitrogen,’ says nutritional therapist,
Andrea Jenkins. Nitrogen breaks down into uric acid, which is then deposited within the tissue, she explains. ‘A build up of acidity in the body is the major cause of degenerative diseases, such as osteoporosis, heart disease, obesity, and cancer, as well as milder symptoms like painful joints, indigestion, irritability and anger, a sluggish metabolism, bad breath and fatigue.’
IS MEAT A MUST?
‘Meat is a high quality protein that contains iron, easily absorbable phosphorous, vitamin B, and all the essential amino acids not found in a vegetarian diet,’ says Fraser-Halkett. Vitamin B is essential to our diets, she says, and it’s not available in plant proteins, such as nuts and seeds.
While protein does form an integral part of a nutritious diet, you don’t have to eat meat every day, says Fraser-Halkett. ‘Fish is a very good form of protein and is recommended as part of a healthy diet, so not eating red meat for one day a week could be a simple practice to follow.’ However, she warns that if you focus on eating less meat, and replace it with a different type of animal protein, like fish, this could deplete our seas.
Jenkins agrees that a source of protein is necessary. However, she believes vegetarian options can be equally effective protein sources. ‘Green vegetables, like spinach, as well as spirulina, seeds, nuts, beans and sprouts are rich in antioxidants, lower in fat, and don’t have the toxic by-products that meat has on the body.’
TOXIC BREAKDOWN
Use your meat-free Monday as a ‘cleansing’ day to focus on vegetables, says Jenkins, especially greens and antioxidant- and colourful-rich salads and fruit.
‘One meat free day a week is a good way of transitioning to a vegetarian diet, breaking patterns and preconceptions, and getting used to incorporating a greater range of other, less toxic sources of protein into your diet.’
COSMO’s resident street style guru, Robyn Cooke, recently took up the trend after chatting with a friend, The Dirty Skirts’ front man Jeremy De Tolly.
‘Jeremy has become an eco-warrior, and after hearing about Meat-Free Mondays and the impact the meat industry is having on the environment, he converted to vegetarianism. I decided to try a meat-free Monday because not only is it good for the environment, it’s fashionable too!’
Cutting meat from your diet for one day a week is just such a simple thing to do, says Cooke.