Wednesday, July 25, 2012

USDA promotes "Meatless Monday" in its cafeteria

This is from USDA's Greening Headquarters Update dated July 23, 2012:

One simple way to reduce your environmental impact while dining at our cafeterias is to participate in the "Meatless Monday" initiative http://www.meatlessmonday.com/. This
international effort, as the name implies, encourages people not to eat meat on Mondays. Meatless Monday is an initiative of The Monday Campaign Inc. in association with the John Hopkins School of Public Health.
How will going meatless one day of the week help the environment? The production of meat, especially beef (and dairy as well), has a large environmental impact. According to the U.N., animal agriculture is a major source of greenhouse gases and climate change. It also wastes resources. It takes 7,000 kg of grain to make 1,000 kg of beef. In addition, beef production requires a lot of water, fertilizer, fossil fuels, and pesticides. In addition there are many health concerns related to the excessive consumption of meat. While a vegetarian diet could have a beneficial impact on a person's health and the environment, many people are not ready to make that commitment. Because Meatless Monday involves only one day a week, it is a small change that could produce big results. Did you notice that our cafeterias have tasty meatless options? So you can really help yourself and the environment while having a good vegetarian meal!

Notice they also link to the private website Meatless Monday where you have Meatless Monday Featured Recipes, a book review The Plant-Powered Diet Makes Meatless Monday Easy and promotion of meatless restaurants, schools and even a global movement for Meatless Mondays.

Are you surprised? USDA using taxpayer money to encourage their employees and visitors to their cafeteria to avoid beef products? Using a government newsletter to promote a global movement against your product?

I propose a Taxless Monday, where no money is collected for USDA purposes, resulting in a 20% cut in their budget.  How do you like them beans!

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