The Climate Crisis Is Urgent. Meatless Monday Can Be Part of the Solution

Take action to fight climate change by going Meatless Monday

Recent published reports have described a greater urgency to reduce climate change, citing that crisis levels could be reached as early as 2040.

• The United Nation’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) generated worldwide attention by emphasizing the need for more immediate and far-reaching behavior changes than previously thought. It also identifies the role of food production and consumption in the current environmental crisis.
• A second study in the publication Nature mirrors this identification of food as a major contributor to climate change and environmental harm.

These reports point to livestock production as a major contributor to global warming, creating more greenhouse gases than all of the planes, trains, and automobiles in the world. For consumers looking for a way to take action against climate change by reducing meat consumption, Meatless Monday is a simple first step. Making a commitment to swap out meat for plant-based foods every Monday can lead toward more sustained changes to diet over time.

The Center for a Livable Future at Johns Hopkins University shares their perspective on these recent reports and also provides resources to guide consumers to better understand the relationship between food choices and climate change: “The Connections between Diet, People and Planet” and “Global Meatless Monday — for the Environment.”

To help improve this understanding, Meatless Monday has designed unique creative materials that give people a simple way to discuss and share the benefits of changing our diets. The Meatless Monday movement has support from chefs, celebrities, schools, restaurants, and organizations in more than 40 countries.