Meatless Mondays: Would it Help the Environment If Fieldston Participated?

photo credit: Isadora Casdin

If Fieldston served entirely vegetarian options once a week, it could have a significantly positive impact on the environment. By opting out of serving meat one day each week, every person who eats lunch at Fieldston would reduce their carbon footprint by eight pounds. 

Meatless Mondays, first introduced during WWI to reduce consumption to help the war effort, was revived in 2003 by Sid Lerner, the founder of The Monday Campaigns. The Meatless Mondays Campaign, now adopted by the New York City Public School System as part of the 10-Year Food Policy Plan, strives to promote healthier food options in communities across the world and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Each person who skips one serving of beef a week saves the equivalent amount of emissions produced by driving 348 miles. Becoming vegetarian, or at least becoming more mindful of what you buy and consume, is the fastest way to lower one’s carbon footprint. In fact, a vegetarian diet results in a carbon footprint two-and-a-half times less than a diet that contains meat. Indeed, meat factories use nearly seventeen percent of U.S. fossil fuels, while sheep and cows alone account for 37% of total methane.

The meat industry not only affects net greenhouse gas emissions globally, but it also takes up more resources than a plant-based diet. Livestock uses 75% of the Earth’s farmland, while plants only take up 23% and contain higher quantities of proteins and calories considering their land use. The production of one quarter-pound beef burger uses 425 gallons of water – enough to fill ten bathtubs – and uses up enough energy to power an iPhone for 6 months. For every meatless meal, you save 133 gallons of water. Today, one in nine people do not have access to safe water since farming uses over 70% of the world’s clean water supply – most of which goes to raising livestock. However, some plant products, like soybeans and rice, also have a high water demand, so it is important to make water-conscious decisions no matter what you eat.

In 2018, six percent of Americans were vegan and five percent were vegetarian. At Fieldston, seventeen percent of upper school students and faculty who completed a meat consumption survey said they do not eat meat either at all or just at school. An additional eight percent limit their meat intake by eating kosher meals, not eating red meat or by keeping similar practices. This means that out of the 395 people who responded to the survey, 98 people, a quarter of the respondents, are helping to limit both their own and the school’s carbon footprint.

Tess McGarvey (V), a current pescatarian, said that as a teen, cutting out meat from her diet completely, “is one thing [she] has complete control of”. It makes her feel like she is actively doing something to help combat climate change and it “empowers” her. McGarvey has not eaten meat in over two years and encourages others to start becoming more mindful about what they eat. For those thinking about starting a meatless diet, she explained that it is not healthy to simply continue eating the same meals you have been eating just without meat. You need to find protein substitutes, since you will not be able to properly provide for your body on just greens and carbs. McGarvey knows that it can be tricky and not always cost-efficient to completely switch over to a diet without meat so her advice is to “find out what works for you.” McGarvey says that it’s not just a matter of what is easier or more “fun,” as a community –– we have to look beyond ourselves to help our future. 

Adopting a pescetarian, vegetarian or vegan lifestyle can be challenging, but it is a significant step in the fight against climate change. As the world’s population continues to grow, the demand for food increases, which results in higher livestock production. As McGarvey mentioned, there are plenty of protein alternatives, such as beans, quinoa and chickpeas that are excellent additions to a meatless diet. There is also an abundance of websites and blogs that post healthy vegetarian recipes such as Love & Lemons, Tinned Tomatoes, Naturally Ella and many more. As many vegetarians proclaim, cutting meat out becomes second nature and you will eventually no longer crave a burger or a bacon-egg-and-cheese. So, join me in decreasing your carbon footprint by taking part in Meatless Mondays.