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MeatOut Day

MeatOut Day encourages people to skip meat and explore plant-based alternatives. It highlights the environmental and health benefits of eating less meat and promotes a shift towards more sustainable and compassionate food choices.

Food & Drink Life & Living Vegetarian & Vegan62

Marketing angleinferred

Capitalize on MeatOut Day to drive trial of plant-based products and restaurant visits by positioning meat alternatives as delicious, sustainable, and accessible to mainstream consumers.

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Share your best plant-based recipe or restaurant discovery on social media to inspire others
Host a vegan potluck challenge and showcase the variety of meat-free meals your community can create
Partner with local vegan restaurants to offer MeatOut Day specials and drive foot traffic
Create educational content on the environmental and health benefits of reducing meat consumption

History

MeatOut Day started in 1985 as a response to the growing awareness of animal rights. It was created by FARM, the Farm Animal Rights Movement, with the goal of encouraging people to give up meat for at least one day.

This event aimed to draw attention to the environmental, health, and ethical issues surrounding meat consumption.

Alex Hershaft, a Holocaust survivor and animal rights advocate, co-founded FARM and was instrumental in launching the event.

He wanted to promote plant-based diets and show that people could make a positive impact by choosing alternatives to animal products. The first celebration took place in the United States, but it has since spread internationally.

The event was inspired by the American Cancer Society’s Great American Smokeout, which encouraged people to quit smoking.

Similarly, Meat Out Day invites individuals to explore a plant-based lifestyle. Over time, it has grown into one of the largest grassroots campaigns advocating for veganism and vegetarianism worldwide.

How to celebrate

Cook Up a Vegan Feast

Turn your kitchen into a plant-based paradise. Try out new vegan recipes or give a veggie twist to your favorite dishes. Whip up a hearty lentil stew or experiment with tofu tacos. You might surprise yourself with how tasty a meat-free meal can be.

Host a Meat-Free Potluck

Gather friends and family for a potluck, but with a twist—everything must be plant-based. Each guest can bring a vegan dish, creating a spread that will showcase the endless variety of meatless options. It’s a fun way to try new foods and spark conversations about plant-based eating.

Try a Local Vegan Restaurant

Support your local vegan spots by dining out for the day. Many cities have amazing plant-based eateries, offering everything from comfort food to gourmet dining. Even if you’re not fully committed to going vegan, trying something new can be an eye-opener.

Share Your Meat-Out Experience

Go online and share your MeatOut Day meal with the world. Post a picture of your creation or review the dishes you tried. Social media is a great way to inspire others to try plant-based options, and you might even pick up some new ideas along the way.

Learn About Plant-Based Living

Use this day as a chance to dive deeper into the benefits of plant-based diets. Watch documentaries or read up on how reducing meat helps the environment, animals, and your health. The more you know, the easier it is to make informed choices about what’s on your plate.

FAQ

Is it actually better for the environment to eat less meat rather than going fully vegan right away?

Environmental research shows that any reduction in high-impact animal products, especially beef and lamb, lowers a person’s food-related greenhouse gas emissions, land use, and water use. Studies comparing dietary patterns find that people who follow “low meat” or flexitarian diets already have substantially smaller environmental footprints than those eating typical meat-heavy Western diets, while fully vegetarian and vegan diets tend to have the lowest impacts overall. This means that shifting along a spectrum, even without going completely vegan, still provides meaningful environmental benefits.

How do major health organizations view well-planned vegetarian or vegan diets?

The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics states that appropriately planned vegetarian, including vegan, diets are healthful, nutritionally adequate, and suitable for all stages of life, and may provide health benefits for prevention and treatment of certain diseases. Similar positions from organizations such as the British Dietetic Association and Dietitians of Canada emphasize that plant-based eating can meet nutritional needs when it includes a variety of foods and attention to key nutrients like vitamin B12, iron, calcium, vitamin D, iodine, and omega‑3 fats.

What nutrients need the most attention when someone cuts back on meat?

When people reduce or remove meat, dietitians typically highlight protein, iron, zinc, vitamin B12, iodine, calcium, vitamin D, and omega‑3 fatty acids as nutrients to plan for. These can come from combinations of legumes, soy products, whole grains, nuts, seeds, fortified plant milks and cereals, and, in many cases, fortified foods or supplements for B12 and sometimes vitamin D or iodine. Health authorities recommend focusing on overall dietary pattern rather than a single food, making sure that plant-based meals are varied and include some reliably fortified products.

Is eating plant-based automatically healthier than eating meat?

Health outcomes depend on overall diet quality, not just whether someone eats meat. Large cohort studies show that plant-based patterns rich in whole grains, fruits, vegetables, legumes, and nuts are linked with lower risks of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and some cancers, but “plant-based” diets that rely heavily on refined grains, sugary drinks, and ultra-processed foods do not show the same benefits. Similarly, small amounts of lean meats or fish within a generally healthy, minimally processed diet can fit within patterns that support good health.

How does livestock production contribute to climate change compared with plant foods?

Analyses from climate and agriculture agencies find that livestock supply chains account for a notable share of global anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions, particularly methane from ruminants and nitrous oxide from manure and feed production. Animal-based foods, especially beef and lamb, tend to require more land and resources and generate more emissions per gram of protein than plant-based sources like beans, peas, and soy. Shifting some protein intake from ruminant meat to plant proteins or lower-impact animal foods generally lowers a person’s dietary climate impact.

Is a flexitarian or “reducetarian” approach meaningfully different from a typical Western diet?

Research into flexitarian and “low meat” patterns finds that people who intentionally limit meat intake, even without eliminating it, usually consume more fiber-rich plant foods and less saturated fat than those with unrestricted meat-heavy diets. Environmental modeling also shows that moderate reductions in red and processed meat, replaced with legumes, grains, and vegetables, can significantly cut diet-related greenhouse gas emissions and improve population health outcomes, particularly with respect to heart disease and colorectal cancer risk.

Do all cultures approach plant-based eating in the same way?

Patterns of plant-based eating vary widely by culture. In parts of South Asia, many Hindu, Jain, and some Buddhist communities have long traditions of vegetarian diets centered on lentils, dairy, grains, and vegetables. Mediterranean and East Asian food cultures often emphasize vegetables, legumes, and modest portions of animal products rather than complete exclusion. In contrast, many high-income Western countries historically built diets around large servings of meat, although interest in vegetarian, vegan, and flexitarian patterns has grown. These differences affect how easy or difficult it feels for individuals to reduce meat within their own culinary traditions.