I’m sure by now you have seen the posts on social media, the requests to try a
Meat-free Monday, the cows producing too many greenhouse gasses the international campaign focused on not only your health but the health of the planet.
So…have you tried it?
Originally Meatless Monday was founded in 2003 by marketing professional Sid Lerner from the United States. The concept was to encourage Americans to make healthier choices and decisions at the start of the week. During the First and Second World Wars campaigns and proclamations were issued to reduce the consumption of meat in an effort to avoid rationing. However only after Paul McCartney and his daughters in 2009 launched Meat-free Monday that the campaign really gathered international steam.
So whats the hype?
The commercialisation of meat production illustrates most clearly how taking control of our food supply (domesticating, breeding and artificial feeding) has affected the nutritional content and our physical health.
Diseases of fatty degeneration afflict many people who eat diets high in beef and pork, and spares people who live on natural complex carbohydrate diets made up of mostly vegetables and grains, Udo Erasmus from his book; Fats that Heal Fats that Kill, goes on to say; writers who evidently like their steaks and pork chops suggest meat and fats cannot possibly be the problem since man has been hunter from the beginning.
Even accepting man’s hunting ancestry, and notwithstanding the fact that man today does not exactly ‘hunt’ his steaks in the old sense of the word (at great expense of energy and exercise with bow and arrow, spear or stone implements), there is another important factor that is usually overlooked : a comparison of the kinds and amounts of fats present in the meat of domesticated animals and their wild counterparts.
According to supportmfm.co.za : The average recommended intake of protein is 42 grams a day. Meat eaters, on average, eat way more than the suggested amount – almost 80 grams. What makes plant-based protein healthier than animal-based kinds is that it is free from cholesterol and lower in saturated fats, lowering your risk of heart diseases, various cancers, type-2 diabetes, obesity and weight gain.
What about the animals?
The meat industry uses up a vast amount of our precious resources like fossil fuels and water, produce a significant amount greenhouse gasses, while a vast amount of grain and feed needs to be planted to sustain the industry.
According to keeper.com we could change the world by consuming 14% less meat, while hashtag MFM encourages South Africans to join the global movement of eating meat free, one day a week, citing a small move with a big impact on the environment, for the animals and your own health.
So is it a good idea? We think so! Try the recipe below and let us know!
