This week in Kent School saw somewhat of a mini-revolution growing. It all started when the environmental club led by Mrs. Sokolnicki decided to try and introduce Meatless Mondays to Kent School. This was not just a rogue idea by the group or, as some Kent School students saw it a devious scheme to turn them into vegetarians. Rather Meatless Mondays is an international organization that was restarted in 2003 as a public health awareness company in co-operation with Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health’s Center for a Livable Future. As anyone who has studied World War Two knows, the concept of Meatless Mondays began during this wartime when the government tried to use the initiative to help the war effort and the feeding of American and allied troops. The campaign now of course places emphasis on the benefits of going meatless for one day a week not only on our health but also the environment. The campaign now has followers in over 13 countries, hundreds of schools, universities and institutions across the globe. Even restaurants such as the Hard Rock Café in London and The Spotted Pig in NYC have pledged to the campaign. The organization claims that the health benefits include reducing heart disease, limiting cancer risk especially from colon cancer, preventing diabetes and of course lessening chances of obesity. The campaign also urges the public to consider the environmental gains of meatless Monday as well- reducing carbon footprint significantly, curbing reliance on fossil fuel and a statistic that shocked many here at Kent including myself- that an up to 2500 gallons of water can be used in the production of one pound of beef. Imagine the amount of water that can be saved just be one public school signing up.
Despite these admirable and compelling reasons, when the plan was initially announced here at Kent School the reaction was mixed to say the least. Almost immediately there was a counter movement established with slogans and a petition set with the names of Kent students so attached to their meat that one meal without it was unbearable. Ridiculous claims were even made that the hockey team wouldn’t survive if they didn’t have their protein intake for that day- apparently oblivious to not only the size of the hockey team but also to the many other, healthier sources of protein outside of meat. Yesterday, the first day of the new regime if you can even call it that was awaited with interest by most students intrigued to see what the difference in their lunch would be. Lunch seemed to be passing with little fuss- the vegetable pizza and stuffed Portobello mushrooms seemed to be appeasing most until one business minded student who had clearly seen an opportunity for profit started to sell McDonald’s hamburgers in the middle of Dining Hall for double the price. Most students seemed content with their lunch, though some who clearly just missed the comfort of fast food took advantage. Although the scene did offer some lunchtime entertainment it did show that some students had clearly missed the point completely. The school is not attempting to limit your freedom or convert you to a hippie vegan with Birkenstocks and a hatred of leather. This isn’t even mostly about the animals. Meat has turned from a luxury to be eaten in small amounts as a treat to a necessity for every meal and what is worse is that the portion sizes of our meat has grown astronomically in recent years. Even as a meat eater, in my opinion Meatless Mondays is a great idea not only for the health benefits and the positive effects in will have on our over-burdened environment but also for the variety it will offer us and hopefully it will wean us off our dependency on meat three times a day, seven days a week.
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