Meat Off the Menu on Mondays in Berkeley

Berkeley becomes first city to require meatless mondays

Residents and city-workers in Berkeley, California may soon have one question at the forefront of their mind: 

Where's the beef?

As ABC7 reports, the Berkeley City Council passed a new resolution last Thursday that banned the serving of animal products one day a week and called for vegan food to be served at city events and meetings on Mondays (or other available day of the week). 

Vegan lifestyles are a bit more restrictive than just vegetarians. Going vegan means going without any kind of animal products, including dairy. 

Berkeley became the first city in the nation to declare "Green Monday" and require city leaders and officials to only serve plant or vegan-based foods at city meetings and events once a week. 

According to the text of the resolution: "City-owned and City-managed facilities and programs will provide only plant-based foods on Mondays (or another day of the week) and educating residents on the impacts of their food choices on climate change and the environment."

"By systematically reducing meat and dairy consumption, the citizens of Berkeley can accomplish two objectives; substantially reducing our collective greenhouse gas emissions and serving as a model for other municipalities across the country and around the world."

Councilmember Kate Harrison, who authored the resolution, says the campaign will work in conjunction with Green Monday U.S.A., an organization dedicated to educating the public on climate change and the environmental impact of meat production. 

"I'm not asking people to give up meat, I'm asking us all to think about what it is that we do every day, how we can reduce our meat consumption," said Harrison.

The UN Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that up to 14.5% of climate change emissions come from the livestock sector. That's more than the entire transportation sector - which includes cars, trains, planes, and ships. 

"Almost a third of our climate change problem comes from animal husbandry and the meat produced by animals and the pollution produced," said Harrison.

With a study showing that fewer Americans are eating meat, the move by the city council may not be all that weird. Two-thirds of survey respondents reported eating less meat since 2015 with most people citing health or money reasons. 

The first Green Monday hasn't been scheduled yet, but the council is working with the city manager to initiate the awareness campaign before the end of the year. 

Photo: Getty Images


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