Environmental Benefits of Meatless Monday and Plant-Based Eating
Research shows that meat and dairy consumption are significant contributors to climate change and environmental resource issues, such as species decline, water scarcity, and soil health.
Eating a more plant-based diet, starting with Meatless Monday, is an easy way to help combat critical environmental concerns from agriculture production.
Use the graphics below and sample communications (with links for more information) to promote and share the many environmental benefits of Meatless Monday. Copy and paste into newsletters, emails, or social media posts…and more.
All information has been produced with our scientific partners at Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future.
Check out our Environmental Research page for more facts and information about meat and dairy production and the related impacts on climate change, water, land use, deforestation, biodiversity and species loss, soil health, and more.
Please contact [email protected] with any questions or help getting a Meatless Monday program started.
Take action today and share the benefits of Meatless Monday with your friends, family, followers, and colleagues. When posting on social media, please tag Meatless Monday and use our hashtag for the opportunity to be shared on our social media platforms.
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LinkedIn: Meatless Monday Official
Hashtag: #MeatlessMonday
Plant-based protein is healthy for you AND the planet! 🌏 💪🏽 🌱 🧐 #DYK that meat production creates more greenhouse gases than the entire transportation sector – all the cars, trucks, planes, and trains in the world – combined? 🚗 🚜 🚌 #MeatlessMonday
Fight Climate Change by Eating More Plant-based Foods
Eating more plant-based meals 🌱 is one of the best (and tastiest) ways to fight climate change. 🌏 🌮🍔🍝😎 #DYK 🧐 Swapping out red meat and dairy one day a week for plant-based foods reduces climate change causing emissions more than eating locally every day? #MeatlessMonday
Protect the Planet by Going Meatless this Monday
The world’s population is set to reach 10 billion by 2050, and all of these people will need to be fed. 🌏🌱 Research shows that enjoying delicious plant-based meals instead of meat is one of the best ways to reduce the environmental impacts of food production and fight global climate change. Go #MeatlessMonday and create a better, more sustainable future.
Need some inspiration? Check out this list of delicious and sustainable foods that help protect the planet.
Eat These Sustainable Foods to Help Protect the Planet
Globally we are seeing the risks of climate change become reality on a daily basis with more extreme weather events and rising temperatures. 🌏 Climate change can seem overwhelming 😩🥺, but there are easy ways to make a difference with your daily food choices. 🍎🥦🌽🥕🥬🍑 Eating more sustainable foods, plant-based meals, and getting friends, family, followers, and colleagues involved in #MeatlessMonday (and beyond) can all make an impact to help fight climate change.
Get inspired with climate-friendly tips for the kitchen and dining out.
How to Fight Climate Change with Your Fork
#DYK about 40% of food in the U.S. goes uneaten? Wasted food is the largest category of material dumped into municipal landfills, which also produces greenhouse gases contributing to climate change. By keeping food out of the garbage and landfills, you can save money, help the planet, and honor the farmers, drivers, cooks, and purveyors who make it all possible. 🌎 💵 So what can you do to fight food waste? The answer is pretty simple: make your food last longer. But how…
Check out this list of easy ways you can help preserve produce, give life to leftovers, and utilize every bit of your fruits🍎, vegetables🥦, herbs🌿, and other perishable ingredients🥫. #MeatlessMonday
10 Ways to Help Make Your Food Last Longer
It takes a lot of water 💧, land, and resources to produce meat, especially beef. 🐄 For example, a ¼ lb hamburger 🍔 takes 425 gallons of water and the equivalent energy to charging your phone for six months to produce. 🥙🥗🌱Eating a more plant-based diet can help reduce agricultural water use by 50%, land use by 80%, and fight species loss. 🦁🦊🦧🐅 #MeatlessMonday 🥦🥬🌽🥕
Every meal is an opportunity to help the planet and your health. #DYK livestock production is the biggest human contributor to species decline and deforestation? Enjoying plant-based meals instead of meat and dairy products is one of the best ways to help save critical wildlife, forests, and our planet. 🌏 Get started with #MeatlessMonday – enjoy all of your favorite foods, made plant-based. 🌱❤️🦧🐅🌲🌳🌴
Click to download our Every Bite Matters – Deforestation video – widescreen
Click to download our Every Bite Matters – Deforestation video – square
Every meal is an opportunity to help the planet and your health. It takes a lot of water 💧 to produce meat, especially beef. 🐄 #DYK one kilogram of beef 🥩 requires nearly 40x more water vs the same amount of vegetables? 🥕🥬 🌱 Eating a more plant-based diet has the potential to decrease agricultural water use by 50%. #MeatlessMonday 🥦🥬🌽🥕
Click to download our Every Bite Matters – Water Conservation video – widescreen
Click to download our Every Bite Matters – Water Conservation video – square
Every meal is an opportunity to help the planet and your health. #DYK livestock production is the biggest human contributor to species decline? Enjoying plant-based meals instead of meat and dairy products is one of the best ways to help save critical wildlife, forests, and our planet. 🌏 Get started with #MeatlessMonday 🌱❤️🦧🐅🌲🌳🌴
Click to download our Every Bite Matters – Species Decline video – widescreen
Click to download our Every Bite Matters – Species Decline video – square
Every meal is an opportunity to help the planet and your health. #DYK nearly 15% of global greenhouse gas emissions come from meat, dairy, and eggs? 🐄🐔🐷 That’s more than the world’s entire transportation sector — cars, trucks, planes, trains — combined. 🚚🚙✈️ The majority of those emissions come from cattle in beef and dairy production. Small steps toward a more plant-based diet, starting with #MeatlessMonday, can help reduce emissions associated with meat production significantly. 🌱
Click to download our Every Bite Matters – Emissions video – widescreen
Click to download our Every Bite Matters – Emissions video – square
#DYK livestock production is the biggest human contributor to species decline and deforestation? Enjoying plant-based meals instead of meat and dairy products is one of the best ways to help save critical wildlife, forests, and our planet. 🌏 Get started with #MeatlessMonday – enjoy all of your favorite foods, made plant-based. 🌱❤️🦧🐅🌲🌳🌴
Environmental research and benefits of plant-based eating.
It takes a lot of water 💧 to produce meat, especially beef, which uses the most water of all foods.🐄 #DYK one kilogram of beef 🥩 requires nearly 40x more water vs the same amount of vegetables? 🥕🥬 And a ¼ lb beef burger hamburger 🍔 uses 425 gallons of water to produce? 🌱 Eating a more plant-based diet has the potential to decrease agricultural water use by 50%.
Get started with #MeatlessMonday – check out delicious plant-based recipes the whole family will love.
#Beans are one of the most sustainable and nutritious, not to mention cheap and delicious, forms of protein. Learn more about the environmental benefits of beans – and tasty ways to add more beans to your meals instead of meat. #MeatlessMonday
#DYK Nearly 15% of global greenhouse gas emissions come from meat, dairy, and eggs? 🐄🐔🐷 That’s more than the world’s entire transportation sector — cars, trucks, planes, trains — combined. 🚚🚙✈️ The majority of those emissions come from cattle in beef and dairy production. ¼ lb beef burger 🍔 emits the equivalent emissions to charging a smartphone for six months.
Small (and tasty) steps toward a more plant-based diet, starting with #MeatlessMonday, can help reduce emissions associated with meat production significantly. For example, a plant-based burger has a carbon footprint 12x smaller than a beef burger. 🍔🌱❤️🌏
Get started with #MeatlessMonday – check out delicious plant-based recipes the whole family will love.
Create your own posts, graphics, and inspirational assets with these environmental facts.
Calculate the environmental impact of eating less meat and dairy with this calculator from our friends at Meat Free Monday.
Fast facts on meat, plant-based diet, and the environment
- Eating more plant-based foods is one of the most effective actions individuals in countries with high meat consumption can take to reduce the world’s eco-footprint.
- The meat industry is the most significant driver of deforestation.
- Eating a more plant-based diet could decrease agricultural land use by 80%.
- Eating a more plant-based diet could decrease agricultural water use by 50%.
- Livestock production is the biggest human contributor to species decline.
- The greatest positive impacts of dietary shifts on the environment will come from eating less meat and dairy and more plant-based foods.
- Eating more plant-based foods and less red and processed meats can provide significant health and environmental benefits.
- Eating less dairy and more plant-based foods can provide significant environmental benefits.
- Plant-based dietary shifts would benefit soil health and improve biodiversity.
- Swapping out red meat and dairy one day a week for plant-based foods reduces climate change causing emissions more than eating locally every day.
- If everyone in New York City chose a (soy) veggie burger instead of a ¼ lb. beef burger for Meatless Monday, it would save enough water to fill 79 million bathtubs.
- If everyone in New York City chose a (soy) veggie burger instead of a ¼ lb. beef burger for Meatless Monday, it would save the equivalent CO2 emissions from charging 2.6 billion smartphones.
- Livestock production creates more greenhouse gases than the entire transportation sector – all the cars, trucks, planes, and trains in the world – combined.
- Livestock production uses 75% of the Earth’s agricultural land.
- Eating less high fat dairy and more plant-based foods can provide significant health and environmental benefits.