TITLE
Recommendation to request City Attorney to draft a resolution in support of the Meatless Mondays campaign in support of comprehensive sustainability efforts, as well as, to further encourage residents to eat a more varied plant-based diet to protect their health, and to encourage restaurants and markets to offer a greater variety of healthier food options.
DISCUSSION
Long Beach has a proven track-record of promoting healthy and sustainable communities, including programs to address childhood obesity prevention, and the Healthy Snack and Beverage Policies.
The Meatless Monday campaign is a global movement to encourage individuals and organizations to cut meat from one's diet one day a week for personal health and environmental benefits. The initiative, which originated as an FDA food efficiency campaign during World Wars I and II, was developed by The Monday Campaigns, in association with the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, with the goal of promoting healthy, environmentally sustainable diets.
A number of cities have passed resolutions in recent years in support of the Meatless Monday campaign, including Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Jose, Oakland, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. Hundreds of schools, colleges and universities also support the campaign.
Many studies have shown that a decrease in meat consumption and an increase in fruits, vegetables and other plant-based foods can have significant health benefits, including a reduced risk for several chronic degenerative diseases and conditions, including obesity, hypertension, diabetes and some types of cancer.
Recent studies and reports have also demonstrated that we can lower our carbon footprint simply by reducing the amount of animal-based foods we eat. It also takes significantly more water to produce a pound of beef or chicken than comparable amounts of most plant-based foods.
FISCAL IMPACT
There is no fiscal impact with the resolution.
SUGGESTED ACTION
Approve re...
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