By now most of you have heard of Meatless Mondays, an anti-meat campaign that aims to “reduce meat consumption by 15 percent in order to produce personal health and the health of our planet.”
The campaign has been around for a few years, but has just recently received a lot of media attention after someone at the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) sent out a newsletter supporting it.
As a beef producer myself, I have a serious problem with this, both with the campaign and the fact that USDA supported it.
First off the Meatless Monday campaign uses scare tactics disguised as scientific information to win people over. As a taxpaying beef producer, I don’t appreciate the U.S. government propagating campaigns designed to put me out of business, especially when those campaigns aren’t based on facts.
Speaking of facts, let’s look at those. The campaign says that foregoing meat is healthier. That is flat wrong. Science has repeatedly shown that eliminating high-quality animal protein, such as lean beef, from the diet can have a serious impact on public health.
What’s even more alarming is the campaign’s goal to eliminate animal protein from school lunches. Kids, more than anyone, need high-quality protein to grow. Research shows that the iron, zinc and B vitamins found in beef play an essential role in brain development and a healthy immune system, as well as fueling a healthy, active lifestyle.
The campaign also says that eating meat, specifically beef, is harmful to the environment. Again, wrong...
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Source: Argentine Beef Packers S.A.
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