Belgian City Declares Thursdays Meat Free
May 20th, 2009
The Belgian city of Ghent is declaring Thursday, ‘Meat Free Day’. Every restaurant will at least have a vegetarian option available with some going completely veggie once a week. In schools a veggie option will be the default.
The basic premise behind the initiative is to reduce the amount of meat being consumed in an attempt to reduce the carbon footprint of the city and to boost the health of its inhabitants. A recent UN report stated that animal farming is responsible for more global greenhouse gas emissions than the entire transport sector combined. It also uses up vast quantities of land, energy and water, clearly making meat an unsustainable product. Consuming large quantities of meat and other animal products has also been linked to a number of life-threatening illnesses, such as heart disease, obesity, diabetes and some cancers.
Importantly unlike most initiatives in Europe there is no state compulsion, it is entirely voluntary, which is why I like it.
