The reasons that you may be considering reducing meat in your diet are somewhat endless at this point. Perhaps you’ve read some of the studies about the antibiotics, genetic alterations and other chemicals that you’ll find in industrialized meat. Perhaps you’re trying to reduce the amount of money you spend on food each month (most of us spend more than we need to), and reducing meat is one option. It’s possible that you’ve watched one of the many documentaries out there about how the industrialized meat corporations aren’t telling you the full truth. Finally, it’s possible that you simply have realized that most Americans eat more meat than is healthy, and you want to reduce.
While your options for reducing or ending your consumption of meat are as endless as the reasons why you may want to adopt a more vegetable heavy diet, we have a recommendation for you. Sometimes, in the effort to simplify, the best solution is not always the most extreme solution. A fad that we hope will turn into an institution is sweeping the nation, and that movement is called “Meatless Monday.” Meatless Monday is exactly what it sounds like: It’s a commitment to not eat meat on Mondays. For just one day a week, you practice vegetarianism. The benefits are, obviously, significant:
-You don’t have to entirely give up meat, so you won’t feel as though you’re depriving yourself of anything that you love.
-During your Meatless Monday, you’ll learn healthy ways of cooking and living meat-free.
-Even reducing one day of meat can improve your health significantly.
-You may find yourself reducing meat more and more as you become more familiar with vegetarian practices and cooking.
-You’ll be joining part of a movement that says that we, not corporate meat marketers, control our decisions about what we eat.
At Postconsumers, we believe that simplification can happen in all aspects of life and learning to do with less is a process. We think the lessons of Meatless Monday could be applied to so many other days of the week! “Stuff Free Saturday” where we all don’t buy anything extraneous is one potential idea! “Family Friday” where our emphasis is on our loved ones instead of the television! The possibilities go on and on. Create your own! Of course, what we love is “Satisfaction Sunday” in which we devote time to do one activity that satisfies us!