The top challenge that will save the world: Meatless Monday

During difficult times and a lot of time at home, people looked for alternatives to entertain themselves and get their heads clear from the quarantine. This is how the famous challenges have been part of daily life until now.

We witnessed various “challenges” that helped the community, others that were fun and others that put lives at risk, especially of young people.

Today we want to tell you about a challenge that has been around the world for years and that is one of the best initiatives that has ever been created to take care of people's health, the well-being of the planet and the integrity of animals.

We refer to the MEATLESS MONDAY

Meatless Monday, beyond being a challenge, is a global movement that encourages people to reduce their meat consumption and animal origin foods  to benefit their own health and the planet.

It was founded in 2003 by Sid Lerner, calling it The Monday Campaigns and Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future. Both with the firm conviction to make a change around them.

Maybe you are thinking: why on Monday if everyone hates them?

Monday is the day we start a week either in the best way or with some "complications" in addition, this works because according to the founders research, this is an introductory day to the rest of the week and the brain sends a signal that it is a positive change and that it can be repeated regularly by doing it in the right order and on the right day.

Starting meatless Monday can lead people to eat more fruits, vegetables, and natural protein foods for the rest of the week without feeling gloomy.

Why should I reduce my meat consumption or foods of animal origin?

• For your health. 

Currently the WHO classifies processed meat as carcinogenic for humans and unprocessed meat as a risk factor to increase harmful fats for the body such as cholesterol, this multiplied by the antibiotics that animals are subjected to increase its size and volume.

Similarly, derivatives of animal origin foods are heavy for the body, so if you don’t have a healthy lifestyle with good habits such as  exercising and having a controlled diet, it can cause you obesity and overweight.

• You can help stop climate change. 

The meat comes from huge cattle fields where millions of exploited animals are produced en masse, which like any living creature produces waste, which are polluting gases, such as methane, the most dangerous for the greenhouse effect.

Actually, meat production is the most polluting activity on the planet, even surpassing world transport.You can conserve the land and feed the world. 

It is estimated that 75% of the agricultural area is used for raising and feeding animals. Only a quarter is used to produce food for direct human consumption.

Likewise, 80% of the world production of soybeans and other cereals end up being for animal feeding,while to make a single kilo of meat occupies more than 15,000 liters of water, what does this mean? While in other parts of the world people die of hunger because of scarce food and water, these resources are redirected to animals for excessive fattening.

At the same time, since it requires so much space for livestock, this activity is responsible for the destruction of ecological habitats, nature reserves and forests. It is estimated that 80% of the deforestation of the Amazon is due to industrial livestock, especially the one that produces cheap meat or  alike products.

• Greater biodiversity. 

You may think that we are praising the “vegan” “vegetarian” lifestyle or one of its variants. But even they are not safe from the consequences of the meat industry.

Industrial feeds produced for animals require fertilizers and chemicals, which are toxic because of the production in big volumes, making that flowers and fruits on earth are becoming in danger of extinction.

Even the livestock animals that we consider common have reduced the variety of species and genes throughout the world, which means they are close to being in danger of extinction.

• You promote respect for life. 

As we have explained, human life is affected by livestock production, in turn the life of crops and certainly that of animals. Those in the industrial livestock sector face inhumane treatment, the murder of their young, torture and other atrocious practices that have been reported for years in the media outlets. Do we really want to continue encouraging these murders?

Now,taking up the cliché phrases criticized and with so much truth from their activists: How can we speak of right and justice if we take an innocent creature and shed its blood? How can we pray to God for mercy if we ourselves have no mercy? Nobel laureate in literature.  Isaac Bashevis Singer

But Meatless Monday is not just about impacting people individually, various organizations have joined the challenge like: chefs, schools, hospitals, restaurants, the media and entire communities in more than 40 countries.

The result has been encouraging several people who were afraid to remove meat from their diet, this initiative has pushed them to a healthier life and choosing better products, including plant-based brands, such as Asanté that benefit the planet.

In fact, by consuming a plant-based product like Asanté only on Mondays, you contribute to:

• Save water from 19 showers
• Avoid CO2 emissions equivalent to driving 54km by car
• Save 14 m2 of forest

If you do it every Monday for a year:

• You save the water equivalent to 983 showers
• You avoid CO2 emissions equivalent to 2,800 km
• Save 702 m2 of forest

At the end, you have the power to change the future with small actions, so, what do you think? Do you join this challenge for the future of the planet?