Miami students are deciding to forgo the steak knife for "Meatless Mondays." The campaign, began Oct. 28 and continues through Nov. 25, encourages students to not eat meat on Mondays with the possibility of winning a gift card to a business Uptown. The program has been implemented at the Miami Traditions line at Alexander, Erickson, Harris and Martin dining halls.
"Meatless Mondays is a campaign to make students aware of the health effects and unhealthiness of large amounts of meat in a diet," senior Chelsea Jones said.
Jones is a student working with Green Oxford, a student-led organization specializing in sustainability efforts.
Decreasing meat in students' diets lowers the risk of heart disease, Jones said.
It also helps the environment, since the production of meat is the single greatest contributor to greenhouse gases.
"Meat is filled with hormones and chemicals to make sure it stays preserved," Jones said. "If the demand for meat goes down, then less meat will be produced. There is a chain effect."
According to Jones and Susan Clark, the executive manager of Alexander Dining Hall, students get credit for going meatless by getting a slip of paper from the server in the buffet line, filling out their name and putting it into the basket correctly labeled in the dining hall. As of right now, Green Door, Chipotle and Moon CO-OP are the businesses involved in the campaign. More businesses are expected to join in on the campaign throughout the month. Gift cards will be given out to six students, Jones said.
However, meat will not be completely eliminated from the dining halls on Mondays. Students will continue to be offered a variety of vegan, vegetarian and meat options in the dining halls.
"At Alexander, we showcase vegan and vegetarian menus. We offered meatless lasagna last week and this week; we served sautéed kale with mushrooms," Clark said. "We want to give students choices, so we still have meat. Students can have a little bit of both if they want."
Dining halls have seen high student-involvement in the first two weeks of "Meatless Mondays."
"There has been quite a bit of participation already," Clark said. "Students are open to trying different recipes and have given us good feedback so far."
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Even though Green Oxford is encouraging students to reduce the amount of meat in their diets, the overall premise of "Meatless Mondays" is not to have students eliminate meat from their meals. Instead, Jones said the focus is on a healthy body and minimizing the environmental impact.
"We aren't trying to make students convert to being vegetarians," Jones said. "We want to make students aware of what they eat and where it come from. We want to show them the greater effects of their choices on not only themselves, but on the environment as well."
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