Malta Meat Free Week is held from the 18th to 24th October encouraging people around the Maltese islands to give up meat for just one week.
OMGFoodMalta is participating in Malta Meat Free Week, which is also being supported by several shops and brands around the Maltese islands. We think you should get on board as well, and we are going to tell you why!
So, why should you go meat-free for one week? What difference could one week possibly make? Meat Free Week is advocated all around the world and it is no wonder then that Malta Meat Free Week came to be. The official World Meat Free Week is actually a little earlier, starting on the last week of September of every year, however the message is the same; eating less meat has substantial benefits to our planet and to our own personal health. The benefits range from better heart health to a reduction in carbon footprint due to less land required to rear animals.
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Going meat free would have sounded really difficult a couple of decades ago, but with so many great brands and recipe options nowadays, going meat free has become so much easier. From easy to follow vegetarian recipes, to meat-free food brands (such as Beyond Meat, Linda McCartney’s, Quorn and Moving Mountains) which are made to have the texture and taste of meat, the options are endless.
Vegan Burger from Bianca’s
To encourage more people on the Maltese islands to participate in the Malta Meat Free Week, the restaurants and brands who are supporting this noble cause are making several offers available during this week. With popular brands such as Alpro, Heinz, Sheese, Green Cuisine, Linda McCartney’s and others, the offers at leading supermarkets will be very interesting. Several prizes can also be won if you use the #maltameatfreeweek to track your meat free week progress on social media.
Going meat free doesn’t mean you miss out on some delicious stuff. Check out this Pasta Pesto we did a while ago.
There are a ton of benefits to joining the Malta Meat Free Week and you have probably heard most of them already. It has been reported that consuming less meat products can mean a lower risk of heart disease. In fact, vegetarians are known to have a 25% lesser chance of dying from heart disease. That’s phenomenal! A lot of research suggests that going on a plant based diet lowers the risk of diabetes.
As you may already know, consuming less meat would mean that less animals need to be reared for consumption. Veggy Malta reports that 6 million animals are killed every single hour. That’s about 150 million animals a day or 1 billion animals a week. Many livestock kept and reared for meat consumption are not exactly kept in the right conditions either. Animal rights is a good reason to give up that meat for a week. If you are already thinking you will be missing that meaty taste, don’t worry because we’ve got some great plant-based vegetarian recipes coming up this week!
A delicious cauliflower with cream dish from One80 Kitchen Gozo
What is really fascinating is the major impact a meat free diet for a week can have on the planet. Most of us are lucky to have water at our disposal and unfortunately unaware of how limited water supplies actually are. It’s increasingly worrying that it is predicted that planet earth will only be able to provide us with 60% of the water we need by the start of the next decade. It is remarkable that we don’t talk about this nearly as much as we should.
The question you must be asking is, what does eating a plant-based vegetarian diet have to do with global water scarcity? In this day and time, it has been reported that 90% of water used is actually utilized to grow food. Interesting fact. For every beef burger (around 200 grams), you need around 3k litres of water. That’s a lot of water. Another interesting fact is that for every 1 calorie of meat produced, you’d need 10 times the number of water for 1 calorie of plant-based food.
A meat free feast from Foam and Fork
If deforestation is a matter close to your heart, this will be very worrying and will get you to join the Malta Meat Free Week. Growing livestock for meat consumption is the biggest reason for the ever-growing deforestation crisis we experience in the world, taking up 80% of land for agricultural purposes. Following a plant-based vegetarian diet helps fight against deforestation. You need 326 square metres of land for one kilogram of beef. When you think about the average number of beef burgers consumed by the average person, that’s a lot of land!
So many goodies! Fresh produce from Farmer’s Deli
The decent thing to do is to watch our personal carbon footprint. Our carbon footprint is the carbon dioxide (CO2) (greenhouse gas emissions) which we submit into the world due to our activities, such as what we eat and how we travel. Higher levels of greenhouse gas emissions create the greenhouse effect which is responsible for global warming and climate change.
Go local and buy fresh vegetables from Farmer’s Market in Ta’ Qali
The concerning news is that one kilogram of beef produces 60 kilograms of greenhouse gas emissions. A plant-based vegetarian diet produces a remarkable difference of 30%-90% less carbon footprint when compared to a meat-diet. Beef is actually the worst in terms of carbon footprint.
It is clear that going on a plant-based diet is very beneficial to both our own personal health and the planet we live in. Even if you’re not ready to dive in completely, you can still make a big difference. You can participate in Malta Meat Free Week and perhaps swap out a meaty meal every now and then with a plant-based meal. Every little bit counts!
