The purpose of a meatless meals, one day a week, is not to convert to
vegetarianism, though some may be encouraged to make additional changes to
their diet based on their experience. The purpose is to
improve health while simultaneously helping the environment.
Skipping meat once a week can help limit fat and cholesterol
intake. This will in turn reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease, cancer,
type 2 diabetes, and obesity.
Because meat products take more resources to create, cutting
back on meat will also benefit the environment. Producing meat requires much
more land, fertilizer, fuel, water and other resources than plant-based
foods. If every American were to participate in a meatless day, once a week, it would save
the same amount of energy as taking 8 million cars off of the roads.
If that's not enough, meatless days can be fun. It will
encourage you to try new foods that you may find you enjoy! It can even be a
great opportunity to educate your children about a healthy and environmentally
friendly lifestyle.
