Peggy joined the Monday Campaigns as President in 2008. Under her direction, the Meatless Monday program (under the Monday Campaigns umbrella) has flourished, extending to 28 countries, 12 languages, and innumerable participants. The message of Meatless Monday is quite simple: just cut out meat once a week, and in return you’ll cut your saturated fat intake, and improve your health and the health of the planet.
Check out this fun video, which will give you a glimpse of how you can change things by honoring Meatless Monday. And you must watch Peggy’s wonderful TEDx Talk on Meatless Monday.
I’m a huge fan of Meatless Monday—I believe it’s a great way to become more familiar with a plant-powered lifestyle. Plus I am a Meatless Monday blogger; you can find a new plant-based recipe on my blog each Monday! To celebrate Vegetarian Awareness Month, we asked Peggy to join our blog to answer a few questions about this amazing program, which has been so successful at promoting a more plant-based approach to eating.
Can you tell us about how Meatless Monday got started?
Sid Lerner, a former ad exec, was at a health conference with Dr. Bob Lawrence at Johns Hopkins in 2003. They were discussing strategies for cutting back on saturated fat to meet the Surgeon General guidelines, which at that time was a 15% reduction.
So Sid thought if people could just cut out meat one day a week—roughly 15% of their weekly meals—that might be easier than trying to measure out a reduction at every meal. He remembered Meatless Monday from World War 2, which was part of an effort to conserve food for the troops, and he thought it might work to address our modern day ills of too much meat and saturated fat in our diets.
Since its early days at Johns Hopkins, there’s been a large body of research linking a high-meat diet with a host of health and environmental issues such as cancer, diabetes and even climate change. So there are more reasons than ever to practice Meatless Monday.
How has Meatless Monday grown since it started?
We got our start with bloggers and grassroots advocates, then gradually added larger, more high-visibility partners like Mario Batali and the giant food service provider Sodexo. Then it just started taking off virally—now there are thousands of schools, hospitals, restaurants and even whole communities that promote Meatless Monday. And now Meatless Monday is global, with active programs in 35 countries, from Kuwait to the Philippines.
In a sense, it’s outgrown us. Which is exactly what we wanted. Now there are Meatless Monday advocates essentially operating independently—spreading the message and promoting the cause.
Also, we’ve grown the Monday Campaigns to include a number of initiatives promoting other healthy choices, such as Move It Monday, Quit and Stay Quit, and the Kids Cook Monday.
We wanted to leverage that already-present-in-Monday inclination to make healthy choices. You see the “Monday” in Meatless Monday isn’t just there for the alliteration. Research from Johns Hopkins points to Monday being the day when people are most likely to start diets and exercise regimens, and search for health information on the internet. Instead of the popular portrayal of Monday as the day to dread, a lot of people’s perception of Monday is that it’s the day for a fresh start.
Why do you think this message has resonated so well with the public?
For one, the simplicity of the campaign. It’s really easy to understand that you can better your health and the health of the environment by cutting out the meat on Monday.
And it’s not a huge ask—it’s just one day a week without meat. And once you try Meatless Monday you’ll see that you aren’t missing much, or hopefully you’ll see that you’re gaining a lot by experiencing delicious dishes you might never have tried otherwise.
And, although participating in Meatless Monday doesn’t require a lot of effort, the impact is huge because we’re doing it together.
Whether people are motivated to improve their personal health or promote the health of the environment—or both—they can effect real change through participating in Meatless Monday.
What kind of impact can Meatless Monday make in America?
Meatless Monday has become a weekly platform that food advocates can use to amplify their efforts, whether it’s chefs putting fresh local veggies at the center of the plate or bloggers and food media featuring weekly meatless recipes. Meatless Monday has become a straightforward call to action that many different groups have rallied around—from environmentalists to animal welfare activists to health gurus.
And our research shows that Meatless Monday is making an impact. According to a recent FGI Research study, awareness of Meatless Monday campaign is now 45%, with 46% of those saying that Meatless Monday has influenced their decision to cut back or consider cutting back on meat. We’re also seeing high levels of awareness and participation in other countries.
What kind of resources can people find from the website?
The Meatless Monday recipes are hugely popular. Here people can find recipes that not only deliver meatless options, which will work any day of the week, but they’ll find delicious recipes that focus on what’s currently in season.
On the site, you can also find promos or campaign toolkits—like print-ready posters and post-ready social media images—that can help people launch their own Meatless Monday campaign or event.
There is also news/editorial and resources so people can see the benefits of going meatless and what’s going on in our world. Along with that you’ll find links out to our social media channels and an opt-in newsletter that will allow people the chance to stay abreast with the current events and Meatless Monday meal ideas.
I am seeing similar programs in other countries—is Meatless Monday collaborating on these?
We’ve taken a lead in creating ideas and materials, making connections and fostering a sense of community. We share a common goal so we absolutely collaborate when we can.
For instance, when Meat Free Monday in the United Kingdom, asked us to participate in Meat Free Monday video with Paul McCartney, we jumped at the chance. Or last July when Bastille Day fell on a Monday we reached out to meatless friends in France in order to share some from-the-source, authentic French Meatless Monday recipes. We’re also working together to promote Meatless Monday in conjunction with the UN Climate Summit, which takes place in New York on September 23rd.
What can we expect to see in the future from Meatless Monday?
We’ll continue to form alliances and gain Meatless Monday participants—more growth globally in places like China, more participation from mainstream media, partnering with large NGO’s like Slow Food and Earthbound Farms.
And we will continue to add health-focused initiatives to the Monday Campaign portfolio. What you should expect from us is that we’ll play a roll in making the world a healthier place. That’s what we expect from ourselves.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over medium-high heat. Cook the penne according to package directions, or until it is cooked to al dente.
Drain the penne in a colander, reserving some of the pasta’s cooking water in a small bowl below. Return the penne to its pot and stir in the pesto sauce and 2-3 tablespoons of the reserved pasta cooking water.
Add the pine nuts to the pot and stir to combine.
Transfer the penne to a serving platter, top with cherry tomatoes, sprinkle with the chopped basil and parmesan cheese to taste.
Notes
Nutrition Information: 375 calories, 10 g total fat, 2 g saturated fat, 67 g carbohydrates, 9 g fiber, 8 g protein
Cook Time:20 minutes
Nutrition
Serving Size:1
Note: I am not a spokesperson or profiting from these products or companies; just providing my own unsolicited opinion about popular products, services, and organizations in the food world today!
