You Don’t Have to Be Vegan for Meatless Monday’s

I write this as a near vegan but technically not. Not because I don’t espouse a diet of whole plant foods as a healthy eating plan. I do, it’s just that the way I eat a nutrient rich diet, includes small amounts of animal products from time to time, and not for nutritional reasons.

So keep that in mind that you don’t have to be a vegan to be pushing for a more nutrient rich, plant based diet in this world when you read statistics like this published by Ellen Kanner from, syndicated Columnist from the Edgy Veggie who wrote an article in the Huffington Post called: Meatless Monday: Enough Already — Busting the Myth of Plant-Based Protein Deficiency.

A new study published in Global Environmental Change shows by cutting meat and dairy consumption by 25 percent, we could reduce two greenhouse gases by 80 percent. This is a big, honking deal. So if you’re thinking about moving to a more plant-based diet, welcome aboard and thanks for helping the environment. You’ll be helping your wallet, too, because plant-based protein is cheaper than most animal protein, and you’ll be helping yourself — plant-based protein is low in fat and contains zero cholesterol.

I was motivated years ago to reduce my consumption of animal products (and I mean to a point where my diet is near vegan, 90% or more whole plant foods) by a similar statistic, AFTER I realized that eating an animal product – based, second class diet was promoting heart disease and cancer let alone aging me faster (yes, even men want to age slower).

John Robbins wrote in his book Diet for a New America (a revolutionary food book full of amazing statistics), 20 years ago, that if people at just 10% less animal foods no one in the world would need to go hungry. So when you read stuff like this, stop and consider adjust your animal product consumption down.

You don’t have to be vegan or or have any intention of minimizing your animal product consumption for your own health (although that obviously would be be good idea) if you are feeling resistant; just consider what it takes to produce all this meat and the cost on our environment. Cut back 30%, and start exploring all the amazing new foods, meals and menus that are available to you not in the name of veganism, or vegetarianism or any “ism” or “ous” for that matter, but in the name of healthy enjoyment.

No worries, you’ll still get more protein than you need.