Happy World Vegetarian Day!

In addition to being the first day of my favorite month of the year, today also is the kickoff of Vegetarian Awareness Month. My intention here is not to convince everyone that they should follow a vegetarian diet (though for selfish reasons I will admit that a drastic increase in the vegetarian population sure would help expand my menu options at restaurants). :) I realize most people find a vegetarian diet impractical and/or undesirable, and I am not out to guilt trip you (I, for one, am well aware of the benefits and impact of a vegan diet, yet I continue to happily eat my cheese). I do think, however, that today provides a good opportunity to remind people of the benefits of eating less meat, even if one is unable to give it up altogether.

So this is just a friendly reminder, taken from the World Vegetarian Day website, that every meatless meal can help reduce the risk of major health issues including heart disease and cancer, provide a viable answer to feeding the world's hungry, reduce animal suffering, conserve our planet's resources, decrease greenhouse gases, preserve ecosystems, and reduce the pollution caused by animal agriculture.

Again, I'm not suggesting that everyone should give up meat, or that you should feel bad if you don't. If you salivate at the thought of bacon or barbecue ribs, by all means, I would not deny you that pleasure, and I realize that for health reasons some people would find it extremely difficult to get their needed nutrition elsewhere. But maybe, just for this month, you could give up meat once a week? According to the Meatless Monday website, "If every American replaced one chicken meal per week with a vegetarian one, the carbon dioxide savings would be the same as taking more than a half-million cars off U.S. roads." And if you replace that chicken with a delicious pasta dish or a comforting vegetable soup, trust me, you won't miss a thing.

Happy Veg Eating!