I just picked up the newest Forks over Knives magazine! I'm such a geek that I get excited about these small things. The magazine is only published a few times a year and I wait for it to come out. For me, this issue seemed even more important in light of the recent IPCC climate change report in which the future outlook for our planet seems pretty grim. Apparently, we have until 2030 to stem catastrophic climate change from the effects of a 1.5 degree change in global temperature. We're already seeing some of the effects of global warming in extreme weather around the globe. It seemed somewhat foreboding that the report came out right before Hurricane Michael hit Florida.
The report included recommendations that I would expect to see like the reduction of fossil fuels but what was noteworthy to me was the recommendation to "limit greenhouse-gas intensive foods through shifts to healthier and more sustainable diets". What does that mean? Shifting away from meat. If you watched the movie Cowspiracy, you would learn that animal agriculture contributes more to greenhouse gas emissions than all of the transportation sector combined. Turns out that what we eat plays a bigger part than what we drive. Dr. Michael Greger put out a great article on this called Meat is Heat.
The somewhat good news is that if we take measures now we can mitigate this. It's a call to arms for us to take action. My suggestion? And this is certainly not a new idea. Everyone making a commitment to meatless Mondays. It's actually quite simple, it's something we can all do and it would have an enormous impact. Even the schools are getting it. I was so pleased last year when my 7th grader came home telling me that he had watched Cowspiracy at school. Anything that helps reinforce what I'm trying to do at home is a good thing! The school followed up the movie with a note to families encouraging all students to bring a meatless lunch on Mondays. This is movement in the right direction. Not only does it benefit our planet, but it benefits our personal health too. Let's all make that commitment. Pick up a magazine or cookbook and find a new recipe to try on Monday. Or, as I discuss in my post, keep it simple and just make pasta or a meal of sides without the meat. Either way, let's commit.