Dietary changes among people practicing Meatless Monday: A cross-sectional study

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Nutrition Science
• Environmental Health

Background:

• High meat consumption poses risks to human and planetary health.
• Meatless Monday (MM) is a public health initiative promoting sustainable diets by encouraging weekly meat reduction.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate if MM participation and e-newsletter exposure are linked to reduced meat intake on non-Mondays.
• To assess the association between MM engagement and broader dietary shifts.

Main Methods:

• Cross-sectional analysis of survey data from 1172 MM e-newsletter subscribers.
• Logistic regression used to examine relationships between MM practice, newsletter duration, and meat consumption patterns.

Main Results:

• MM practitioners were significantly more likely to reduce meat intake on multiple days, eliminate meat entirely, and incorporate more meatless meals.
• Longer subscription to the MM e-newsletter correlated with greater meat reduction.

Conclusions:

• Meatless Monday serves as an effective, accessible strategy for promoting healthier and sustainable dietary changes.
• The initiative offers a stepwise approach to significant dietary modifications for individual and environmental well-being.