by Jeanette Liu
Beets and bananas are in and juicy burgers are out in Los Angeles, at least on Mondays.
In a Friday vote of 14-0, LA’s city council has decided to urge its residents to pledge to have meatless Mondays, a tradition which dates to U.S. rationing during the First World War and has become an international movement.
But, the decision to reduce meat consumption isn’t always as well received in cities outside of L.A., like Toronto.
“I can see why they might want to put a motion like this forward but it’s kind of crazy, ” fitness co-ordinator Leanne Henwood-Adam told Humber news. “What are they going to do if people decide to eat meat anyway? It will be impossible for them to police what people are eating.”
The one-day ban on meat is intended as a public awareness initiative and won’t be policed but the city’s officials say they hope it will make people more cognizant of how much meat they actually consume, making them healthier and more environmentally friendly.
“The decision is a good attempt at trying to get people to look at how much meat and protein they consume and it will definitely promote healthier eating,” Henwood-Adam said. “Most North Americans eat way too much protein and meat.”
Henwood-Adam advises clients to measure their meat to the size of their hand to determine how much meat is healthy to consume for their body size. She says hand thickness and size should help ballpark how much meat the body actually needs.
“Measure out that cut of steak or piece of chicken breast to the size of your hand minus your fingers,” she said. “Also, compare the thickness of your hand with the thickness of the meat.”
According to a UN report, “the livestock business is among the most damaging sectors to the earth’s increasingly scarce water resources, contributing among other things to water pollution from animal wastes, antibiotics and hormones.”
Despite the slow weaning off of meat, some Toronto natives say they don’t feel they could join in on meat-free Mondays.
“I’m a big meat eater and it would be really hard for me to join this sort of food movement,” Sandy Vasqeuz, first year food and nutrition student, told Humber News . “Next week in class I’ll be learning how to prepare meat loaf and I’m kind of excited.”
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