initiative, Meatless Mondays!

Looks like New York keeps getting more and more compassionate by the day! Recently, we shared the exciting news that New York state has officially banned the use of elephants for live entertainment, signed by Governor Cuomo and now 15 schools in Brooklyn are going to participate in public health initiative, Meatless Mondays!

Mayor Bill de Blasio, Schools Chancellor Carmen Fariña, and Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams announced the news at PS 1 in Sunset Park, stating that starting next spring, 15 Brooklyn schools will serve, healthy, all-vegetarian breakfasts and lunch menus every Monday!

The schools will offer a variety of options, such as spinach wraps, vegetarian chili, roasted chickpea tagine, black bean quesadillas, crispy tofu, zucchini parmigiana and margarita pizza. Nice!

Mayor Bill de Blasio and First Lady Chirlane McCray will also participate in the Meatless Mondays in their Gracie Mansion residence. “Cutting back a little on meat will help make our City healthier and our planet stronger for generations to come,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio about the initiative.

The news comes on the heels of The Coalition for Healthy School Food (CHSF), announcing they have worked with the city’s department of education to introduce a vegan lunch option to 1,200 New York City public schools.

Not only are the new lunch menus healthier and tastier, these new lunch options have a much lower footprint. Did you know the animal agriculture industry is responsible for 14.5 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions? It also occupies 45 percent of arable land and uses 23 percent of the world’s fresh water. In fact, a Friends of the Earth (FOE) study found that if every school district in the U.S. adopted this type of food policy, it would be equivalent to taking “150,000 cars off the road every year.”

Way to go, New York! Here’s to more schools in America, and others around the world, continuing to move towards a plant-based diet. Why would anyone say no to healthier, better tasting, more environmentally-friendly food?

Are you interested in learning more about how you can reduce your impact on the planet with food choices? Check out One Green Planet’s #EatForThePlanet campaign.

Image Source: Meatless Mondays/Facebook

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