Eating less meat would be good for the Earth. Small nudges can change behavior
One of the thorniest problems of the 21st century is how to get people to eat less meat
NEW YORK — Preston Cabral eats meat nearly every day at home, but his favorite meals at school are served on “Meatless Mondays” and “Vegan Fridays.”
“Today I ate chips, tangerines and this thing that looked like chili but without the meat — just beans,” the 12-year-old said after lunch on a Friday at I.S. 318 Eugenio Maria De Hostos.
The Monday and Friday lunches have inspired Preston's family to make more vegetarian meals at home, sparking what experts say is a healthy shift for them — and for the planet.
Programs like these are among the few proven to work for one of the thorniest problems of the 21st century: How to get people to eat less meat.
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EDITORS’ NOTE — This story is part of The Protein Problem, an AP series that examines the question: Can we feed this growing world without starving the planet?
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A new poll conducted by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that most U.S. adults said they eat meat at least several times each week. About two-thirds (64%) said they eat chicken or turkey that often, and 43% eat beef that frequently.
But experts agree that the urgency of climate change and the demands of a surging global population call for an overhaul of how humans get their protein.
“There has arguably never been a more important time in human history to transform our food system for the sake of humans and nature,” a coalition of United Kingdom climate scientists concluded in a 2020 analysis.
That will require changing consumer behavior around meat, particularly in rich countries, experts said. From a health perspective, people in places like the U.S., Canada and Europe eat far more meat,
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