The US city council of Los Angeles has unanimously voted to go meat-free on Mondays and encourage individuals, families, schools and businesses to follow suit. The resolution, put forward by councillors Jan Perry and Ed Reyes, was passed by 12 votes to 0 last Friday.
While there are one day a week campaigns in 22 different countries, and cities including Ghent, Bremen and San Francisco all have meat-free day initiatives, Friday’s resolution makes L.A. the largest city to sign up to Meatless Monday/Meat Free Monday – a movement which aims to reduce meat consumption for health and environmental reasons.
“This (Meatless Monday) follows the ‘good food’ agenda we recently adopted supporting local, sustainable food choices,” said Councillor Perry. “While this is a symbolic gesture, it is asking people to think about the food choices they make. Eating less meat can reverse some of our nation’s most common illnesses.”
“If we do it one plate at time, one meal, one day, we are ratcheting down the impact on our environment,” said Councillor Reyes. “We start with one day a week and then, who knows, maybe we can change our habits for a lifetime.”
