Meat free Monday Canada

Every time you eat a meal free of animal products, you save 2.5 lbs. of greenhouse gas emissions, 24 square feet of land, and 133 gallons of water. If you eat three meals a day, that totals 2,737.5 lbs. of greenhouse gas, 26,280 square feet of land and 145,635 gallons of water per year, plus more.

Nobel Laureate, Dr. Rajendra Pachauri, head of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has stated, “Please eat less meat; meat is a very carbon intensive commodity ...” and “The single action that a person can take to reduce carbon emissions is vegetarianism.”

Dr. James Hansen - NASA's top climatologist
"There are many things that people can do to reduce their carbon emissions, but changing your light bulb and many of the things are much less effective than changing your diet, because if you eat further down on the food chain rather than animals, which have produced many greenhouse gases, and used much energy in the process of growing that meat, you can actually make a bigger contribution in that way than just about anything. So, that, in terms of individual action, is perhaps the best thing you can do."

The prestigious Pew Commission on Industrial Farm Animal Production stated that factory farms pose unacceptable risks to public health, the environment & animal welfare.

“It is the position of the American Dietetic Association and Dietitians of Canada that appropriately planned vegetarian diets are healthful, nutritionally adequate, and provide health benefits in the prevention and treatment of certain diseases…Well-planned vegan [pure vegetarian] and other types of vegetarian diets are appropriate for all stages of the life cycle, including during pregnancy, lactation, infancy, childhood, and adolescence.”

Due to the impact that meat has on the environment, we need to reduce our consumption of this carbon & methane intensive product as an effective solution to the climate change crisis. This petition calls for United States officials to take action now. And demonstrate its leadership and commitment to addressing climate change.

We urge the US government to promote every Monday as a day when USA citizens will abstain from meat products in an effort to protect the environment and halt global warming.

We call on everyone’s support in expressing the need for United States of America to adopt and promote a “Meat free Monday.

So please sign this petition and share it with as many peoples as possible!


Resources for your consideration
Historical context of eating less meat by www.meatlessmonday.com/history/
During World War I, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) urged families to reduce consumption of key staples to help the war effort. Conserving food would support U.S. troops as well as feed populations in Europe where food production and distribution had been disrupted by war. To encourage voluntary rationing, the FDA created the slogan “Food Will Win the War” and coined the terms “Meatless Monday” and “Wheatless Wednesday” to remind Americans to reduce intake of these products.
View their website to find out more :)

Books:

Diet for a New America, by John Robbins
Covers catastrophic environmental effects of the meat industry has on the global environment.
He states that meat cultivation is the single biggest contributor to the devastation of our natural resources. The erosion of our topsoil, the poisoning and depletion of our water systems, and air pollution largely created by flatulence from farm animals along with the vapors emitted by the decomposition of carcasses contribute to furthering septic planetary conditions.


The China Study, by Dr. T. Colin Campbell
The negative impact of animal foods on the human condition is overwhelming, but it goes even deeper than diseases and environmental destruction. The steroids and growth hormones that have been injected into these animals greatly affect the sexual maturity of our youth.


Documentaries:
Food Inc. - In Theaters NOW across the nation.
http://www.foodincmovie.com/
Lifts the veil on our nation's food industry, exposing the highly mechanized underbelly that has been hidden from the American consumer with the consent of our government's regulatory agencies, USDA and FDA. Our nation's food supply is now controlled by a handful of corporations that often put profit ahead of consumer health, the livelihood of the American farmer, the safety of workers and our own environment.

Devour the Earth - http://www.globetransformer.org/devour/download.php?lang=en (free)
Narrated by world-renowned vegetarian and member of the Beatles Sir Paul McCartney. Devour the Earth clearly illustrates the environmental consequences of human activity and the effects of the meat-based diet on our beautiful, precious planet.

A Sacred Duty - http://www.asacredduty.com/ (free)
Our planet is imperiled as perhaps never before by global warming and other environmental threats. It is urgent that steps be taken immediately to avoid the unprecedented catastrophe toward which the world is rapidly heading.

Meat the Truth - http://www.meatthetruth.com/index.html
A high-profile documentary, presented by Marianne Thieme (leader of the Party for the Animals), which forms an addendum to earlier films that have been made about climate change. Although such films have convincingly succeeded in drawing public attention to the issue of global warming, they have repeatedly ignored one of the most important causes of climate change, namely: intensive livestock production. Meat the Truth has drawn attention to this by demonstrating that livestock farming generates more greenhouse gas emissions worldwide than all cars, lorries, trains, boats and planes added together.

A Delicate Balance - http://adelicatebalance.com.au/
2008 documentary outlining the effects of diet on health and the environment. Based on a large amount of research into these areas, it features interviews with doctors and other prominent figures on the public health scene, as well as world leaders such as Maneka Gandhi.

The End of Line - http://endoftheline.com/
The world’s first major documentary about the devastating effect of over-fishing premiered at Sundance Film Festival.

The Cove - http://thecovemovie.com/
uncover what may be the largest health crisis facing our planet— the poisoning of our seas. Part environmental documentary, part horror film, part spy thriller, The Cove is as suspenseful as it is enlightening. The final result is a heart-wrenching, but inspirational, story that shows the true power of film in the hands of people who aren't afraid to risk everything for a vital cause.

Earthlings - http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6361872964130308142
A feature length documentary about humanity's absolute dependence on animals (for pets, food, clothing, entertainment, and scientific research) but also illustrates our complete disrespect for these so-called "non-human providers." The film is narrated by Academy Award nominee Joaquin Phoenix (GLADIATOR) and features music by the critically acclaimed platinum artist Moby

Home - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqxENMKaeCU&feature=channel_page (free)
It shows the diversity of life on Earth and how humanity is threatening the ecological balance of the planet.

Useful Links
http://www.cancerproject.org/media/pdfs/ProcessedMeatsGM08SM.pdf
Eating quarter pound of red meat a day raises mortality risk: study (CBC News)
Meat Consumption and Cancer Risk ( PLoS Medicine )
Vegetarian Diets: Position of Dietitians of Canada and the American Dietetic Association (Dietitians of Canada )
Excess Body Fat Causes Cancer (American Institute for Cancer Research :AICR)
Vegetarian Diets for Pregnancy ( Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine )
Preventing and Reversing Heart Disease ( Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine )
Vegetarian Diets for Children: Right from the Start ( Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine )
Red and Processed Meat Consumption Significantly Increases Cancer Risk (cancerproject.org)
Cancer Facts - Meat Consumption and Cancer Risk (cancerproject.org)
Healthy Eating for Life: Food Choices for Cancer Prevention and Survival (cancerproject.org)


Sign & Spread - please share via email and online sites below the "sign petition" link you'll see how to share on social sites and some code for webpages.

Also we have “sister” petitions from around the world, - we are working on a “one stop” submit system but for now – please also contribute your voice here:
USA:
http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/meat-free-monday-in-the-usa.html

Taiwan:
http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/meat-free-monday-taiwan.html

Australia:
http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/meat-free-monday-in-australia.html