It started in Belgium in 2009, after Dr Rajendra K Pachauri, head of the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, gave a talk in the Belgian city of Ghent. Dr Pachauri revealed in his talk that livestock production, mostly for food, accounts for about 18% of human produced greenhouse gases, while transport, which has often been seen as a major contributor to climate change, contributes only 13%. According to Dr Pachauri, the best and most convenient action people could take to slow climate change would be to follow a plant based diet once a week.
In response, Ghent’s city council adopted a resolution urging residents to go Veggie every Thursday. Since then, several other Belgian cities have followed suit. The movement has now spread beyond Belgium. In cities such as San Francisco, Sao Paolo and Taipei, the idea of going meatless once a week has taken flight.
Singapore too has joined the fray. The Students Against Violation of the Earth (SAVE), a National University of Singapore (NUS) student environment group, has convinced the university to endorse “Meatout Thursday”. This campaign is part of the ongoing ‘NUS Fights Climate Change’ movement.
Join Jasmin on a Veggie Adventure Today!
and Take a look at the list of saintly dish for every day of the week.
