Commentary: Meatless Mondays — healthy or dangerous?
OPINION
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THE LAND, MARCH 16, 2012
The Center for Disease Control estimated guidelines show that Americans the life expectancy of Americans in 2007 should be consuming between 5.5 was 77.9 years of age. Based on this, it is and 6 ounces of meat per day. A This (Meatless Mondays) movement is not in the best quite a feat for my grandparents to be 92 three-ounce serving of beef coninterest of students, patients, or the average American and 94 years of age. For them to still be livtains more than half of the daily going out to eat because of the many benefits meat ing on their own and having minimal health requirement for intake of protein has in a well-balanced diet. issues is a miracle. and high quantities of zinc, B12, selenium, phosphorus, niacin, B6, In their opinion, their health can — Erin Morrison iron and riboflavin. These nutrients be contributed to two things. The are essential to people of all ages; howfirst, the amount of physical activity they had as 15 percent and “improve personal health and the younger adults and the second is their healthy diets. health of the planet.” The Monday Campaigns ever, children suffer the most when they lose out on Their diet was a typical farmer’s diet, consisting of reports that there are currently more than 43 col- these nutrients. an entrée made from meat as well as fruits and veg- leges and universities, nearly a dozen school disIn fact, a study done by Lindsay Allen at the Unietables. versity of California showed just how vital meat is tricts, two hospitals and countless restaurants that in a child’s diet. A large group of Kenyan children, Sadly, a growing section of the American popula- have pledged to join this movement. all around the age of 7, were supplemented with tion doesn’t agree with the diet my grandparents folHowever, this movement is not in the best interest low. In fact, the movement sweeping the nation to of students, patients, or the average American going minced meat, milk, vegetable oil, or no supplement observe Meatless Mondays goes against everything out to eat because of the many benefits meat has in a at all. The children who received the meat gained about 400 grams more than the other children, permy grandparents believe regarding healthy diets. well-balanced diet. formed better in intelligence tests, showed leaderThe Monday Campaigns is sponsoring the moveThe biggest myth surrounding Meatless Mondays ship and were much more active. ment that motivates restaurants, schools and hospitals to have menus that would exclude all meat prod- is that Americans could have a healthier diet if they The results of this study are quite clear: children excluded meat from their diet one day a week. Gov- need meat in their diet to fully develop and funcucts once a week. ernment figures show that the average American The group strives to reduce meat consumption by consumes 5.3 ounces of meat per day, yet the dietary See MEATLESS, pg. 7A
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