To the Editor:
I'm writing on behalf of the national Meatless Monday campaign, the non-profit public health initiative in association with the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. We were delighted to see that Meatless Monday was included in Tuesday's edition of The Herald ("Meatless pledge gains momentum," March 6), but there is an error in the piece that may confuse your readers about our campaign's mission and philosophy. A member of Brown's Sustainable Food Initiative is quoted as saying, "The national movement is very much focused on getting rid of (meat) in the dining hall. We want to say, ‘Yes, there's meat available, but here's the vegetarian special.'"
This statement is actually the opposite of our objective. We at Meatless Monday do not encourage schools to take meat off the menu but rather ask that cafeterias highlight plant-based options at the start of the week. We typically discourage the complete removal of meat, as we want students to make the choice to go meatless for themselves, rather than have it forced upon them. Our goal is simply to educate individuals on the benefits of more fruits, grains and vegetables in their diets while creating a weekly opportunity for them to partake in delicious, vegetarian food.
We applaud Brown Dining Services and the Sustainable Food Initiative for offering choices on Meatless Monday, despite this initial confusion.
Tami O'Neill
Project Associate, The Monday Campaigns
