Chelsea Green (THE publisher of all books eco-friendly) and Your Daily Thread (LA’s guide to having FUN living green) have teamed up to help you go Meatless in May.
Why would you want to cut meat out of your diet, even if just for a month?
“Cutting meat out of your diet entirely saves 5,000 lbs of carbon emissions per year. By cutting meat out of your diet for just the month of May, you’ll be cutting 420 lbs. of CO2 out of your carbon footprint.”
Wondering how eating meat produces so much CO2 and other greenhouse gases?
Check out the short video (below) from the girls behind Your Daily Thread for an easy explanation.
The girls at Your Daily Thread have a running “beef with meat.”
As for me, I’m about 75% vegetarian.
My wife is a lacto-ovo vegetarian, so by default I eat lots of vegetarian meals — and love them.
But being a personal fitness trainer, I also know I need at least 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight every day to promote and sustain lean muscle growth.
It’s hard enough to get a “gram per pound,” as we refer to it, but to get it without meat is even harder. Not to mention I take issue with the dangers of soy protein.
What does that mean?
It means that chicken and fish are also a large part of my diet.
Will this video by YDT co-founders Tracy Helper and Lauren Johanson change my mind? Will it change your mind?
)
If that’s NOT enough to make us take the 1 month challenge, check out 3 of Chelsea Green’s “truth bombs” on the subject:
- Livestock production accounts for 18% of global greenhouse gas emissions—more than all the world’s cars combined
- It takes 40 calories of energy to produce one calorie of beef.
- Walking uses more fossil fuel than driving — if you get your calories from red meat.
Wow!
Number 3 really got my attention. Which one got yours?
If you want to take the pledge and go meatless in May, head on over to the Meatless in May Facebook fan page. There you’ll find helpful info, links, videos, pictures, and much more.
Will you be taking the pledge?
I think every little step toward living green is an awesome one… but eco-snobbery sucks! My goal is to help newbies learn the most important steps toward living green — individually and collectively. Personally, I strive to have as little impact as possible on Planet Earth while I'm here.
