# Meatless Monday. L.A. is getting weirder and weirder. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 12, 2012, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meatless-monday-l-a-is-getting-weirder-and-weirder/640819 "2012-11-12T20:38:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2012, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meatless-monday-l-a-is-getting-weirder-and-weirder/640819/1 "2012-11-12T20:38:03Z")
The city council voted on this? Has our nanny state nothing better to do? There’s a entire subset of humans that skip meat once a week, They are known as Catholics. 😛 No meat Fridays. I’m off for my meat and burrito at Taco Bell. > **[Archive blogs](https://www.latimes.com/archives/blogs/)** > > Los Angeles Times blogs that were published between 2006 and 2013. > [@](#): > > For one day each week, the Los Angeles City Council wants residents to go vegetarian. > > In a unanimous 12-0 vote, the council approved a resolution Friday endorsing the “meatless Monday” campaign and asking residents to make a personal pledge to ditch meat for one day a week. ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2012, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meatless-monday-l-a-is-getting-weirder-and-weirder/640819/2 "2012-11-12T20:41:42Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > I’m off for my meat and burrito at Taco Bell. I’m pretty sure you could take the pledge and still eat the beef burritos at Taco Bell without breaking your word. But reducing meat intake is a good idea for a number of reasons, so I don’t really have a problem with LA running a PR campaign for doing so. Doesn’t seem any different then the thousands of other local public-health initiatives across the country. ---
**Author:** ![Michael63129](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3da27b/32.png) [@Michael63129](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Michael63129)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2012, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meatless-monday-l-a-is-getting-weirder-and-weirder/640819/3 "2012-11-12T21:48:43Z")
> [@Simplicio](#): > > I’m pretty sure you could take the pledge and still eat the beef burritos at Taco Bell without breaking your word. > > But reducing meat intake is a good idea for a number of reasons, so I don’t really have a problem with LA running a PR campaign for doing so. Doesn’t seem any different then the thousands of other local public-health initiatives across the country. If they are doing it because they think meat is unhealthy\*, then why not ban the sale of all of that processed crap with hydrogenated oils and refined bleached flour and sugar/HFCS instead? Ironic that so many people think that meat is bad for you when the overwhelming majority of junk food is vegetarian (not counting animal-based ingredients which might be used in small amounts). \*Meat IS unhealthy - if it is [processed](http://www.webmd.com/heart-disease/news/20100517/processed-meat-linked-to-heart-disease-risks) (“no link between unprocessed red meat and heart disease or diabetes”) or 30% fat hamburger meat (probably still not as bad as the typical bun it comes on, see above), so why not just ban those. Of course, there are also environmental issues, but a lot of that is simply due to how we raise meat nowadays - cows want to eat grass, not corn (and as a bonus, they turn inedible grass into human food), and it isn’t like methane emissions from cows are [increasing at an exponential rate](http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/money/industries/food/story/2012-01-29/beef-prices/52874812/1) (unlike fossil fuels, which contribute far more, especially since the carbon is being added to the environment). I wonder if they are going to install spy cameras in homes to ensure that nobody eats meat in their home on Monday- after all, nothing is going to stop me from buying meat on another day and eating it then (which I assume many people already do). ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2012, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meatless-monday-l-a-is-getting-weirder-and-weirder/640819/4 "2012-11-12T22:01:02Z")
> [@Michael63129](#): > > I wonder if they are going to install spy cameras in homes to ensure that nobody eats meat in their home on Monday- after all, nothing is going to stop me from buying meat on another day and eating it then (which I assume many people already do). Surely you didn’t just type a four paragraph rant before taking the time to read the OP’s two sentence quote from the article noting that the LA City Council is not banning anyone from doing anything? Its just a public health awareness campaign. ---
**Author:** ![drewtwo99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d07c76/32.png) [@drewtwo99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewtwo99)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2012, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meatless-monday-l-a-is-getting-weirder-and-weirder/640819/5 "2012-11-12T22:17:16Z")
I don’t think I can respond to the OP the way I want to, because we aren’t in the pit. ---
**Author:** ![tomcar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7993a0/32.png) [@tomcar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomcar)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2012, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meatless-monday-l-a-is-getting-weirder-and-weirder/640819/6 "2012-11-12T22:17:18Z")
Typical over reaction. Anyways, as a vegetarian I support this. I wish the while country backed this. Of course, the beef industry would not support it, neither would the midwest and south. ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2012, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meatless-monday-l-a-is-getting-weirder-and-weirder/640819/7 "2012-11-12T22:26:00Z")
I’d head to Chik Fil A myself. ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2012, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meatless-monday-l-a-is-getting-weirder-and-weirder/640819/8 "2012-11-12T22:35:46Z")
I agree though, they should have made it Friday since there is already a well-established tradition in some cultures of not eating meat on that day. What are Catholics supposed to do, go without meat _twice_ a week? ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2012, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meatless-monday-l-a-is-getting-weirder-and-weirder/640819/9 "2012-11-12T22:57:34Z")
> [@Michael63129](#): > > If they are doing it because they think meat is unhealthy No, the “Meatless Mondays” campaign is not claiming that meat is intrinsically unhealthy or bad for you. They’re just pointing out that medical recommendations support cutting down the **frequency** of meat-eating in the typical American diet. [QUOTE=Michael63129] I wonder if they are going to install spy cameras in homes to ensure that nobody eats meat in their home on Monday- after all, nothing is going to stop me from buying meat on another day and eating it then (which I assume many people already do). [/QUOTE] :rolleyes: You can stop wondering, because they’re not. > [@Skammer](#): > > I agree though, they should have made it Friday since there is already a well-established tradition in some cultures of not eating meat on that day. But as I said, “Meatless Monday” is already a thing: the LA City Council didn’t make it up. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_t\_Panic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/don_t_panic/32/398_2.png) [@Don\_t\_Panic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_Panic)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2012, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meatless-monday-l-a-is-getting-weirder-and-weirder/640819/10 "2012-11-12T22:57:54Z")
> [@Skammer](#): > > What are Catholics supposed to do, go without meat _twice_ a week? Oh, the humanity! (MB, no meat since the late nineties.) ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2012, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meatless-monday-l-a-is-getting-weirder-and-weirder/640819/11 "2012-11-12T23:09:16Z")
Hey! Wednesday could be “Water-less Wednesday!” What should we call the other days? ---
**Author:** ![Antinor01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@Antinor01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antinor01)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2012, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meatless-monday-l-a-is-getting-weirder-and-weirder/640819/12 "2012-11-12T23:12:12Z")
Tobacco-less Tuesday. Sugar free Sunday. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2012, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meatless-monday-l-a-is-getting-weirder-and-weirder/640819/13 "2012-11-12T23:14:19Z")
Thiamineless Thursdays. How legally binding is this council decision? Is it really just an HR thingie, or could McDougals be in trouble for selling its trillionth hamburger? ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2012, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meatless-monday-l-a-is-getting-weirder-and-weirder/640819/14 "2012-11-12T23:18:19Z")
Others have already pointed out there’s no ban here so “nanny state” accusations are wrong. But on the Catholic issue some have raised, do you guys really think “fish on Friday” is still a rule? That rule was overturned at the Vatican II council - forty-seven years ago. ---
**Author:** ![Michael63129](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3da27b/32.png) [@Michael63129](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Michael63129)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2012, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meatless-monday-l-a-is-getting-weirder-and-weirder/640819/15 "2012-11-12T23:20:24Z")
> [@Simplicio](#): > > Surely you didn’t just type a four paragraph rant before taking the time to read the OP’s two sentence quote from the article noting that the LA City Council is not banning anyone from doing anything? > > Its just a public health awareness campaign. Well, okay, maybe “banning” was too strong of a word, but I still think it is a silly idea and will no doubt lead to people getting picked on “Hey! You aren’t supposed to eat meant on Monday!” Also, when did Catholics not eat meat on Friday? Since I was raised as one (not currently practicing though, and not really strict given that we never went to church regularly, although my parents did send me to PSR (“religion school”) for an hour a week) and I never remembered not eating meat on Friday, even during Lent. Also, do Americans really eat too much meat? According to [this study](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18469286), even the group with the highest protein intake was still within the recommended intake (and far below the acceptable upper intake) and there really are people with insufficient intake (FWIW, the recommended RDA of protein is the **minimum** amount needed to reach nitrogen balance, so you want to eat more). See [here](http://jama.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=182114); “The RDA of protein was based on the results of all available studies that estimated the minimum protein intake necessary to avoid a progressive loss of lean body mass as reflected by nitrogen balance”, so you want to make sure you at least the RDA (and more if you work out; sure, there are protein supplements but I like real food instead). ---
**Author:** ![RandMcnally](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b782af/32.png) [@RandMcnally](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RandMcnally)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2012, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meatless-monday-l-a-is-getting-weirder-and-weirder/640819/16 "2012-11-12T23:22:53Z")
> [@Michael63129](#): > > Also, when did Catholics not eat meat on Friday? Since I was raised as one (not currently practicing though, and not really strict given that we never went to church regularly, although my parents did send me to PSR (“religion school”) for an hour a week) and I never remembered not eating meat on Friday, even during Lent. As said above, the whole “no meat on Fridays” hasn’t been a thing for a while. I am a practicing Catholic and we eat meat all throughout the week, except during lent. During lent is when one doesn’t eat meat on a Friday. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2012, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meatless-monday-l-a-is-getting-weirder-and-weirder/640819/17 "2012-11-12T23:41:25Z")
> [@Michael63129](#): > > Well, okay, maybe “banning” was too strong of a word, but I still think it is a silly idea and will no doubt lead to people getting picked on “Hey! You aren’t supposed to eat meant on Monday!” I don’t think encouraging people to eat healthier is a silly idea, although I agree that it wouldn’t be polite for individuals to go around trying to police each other’s healthy eating. But if the ruling promotes a little public discussion that fights some ignorance about dietary and/or legal issues, as it’s doing right here, then that’s a bonus. [QUOTE=Michael63129] “The RDA of protein was based on the results of all available studies that estimated the minimum protein intake necessary to avoid a progressive loss of lean body mass as reflected by nitrogen balance”, so you want to make sure you at least the RDA (and more if you work out; sure, there are protein supplements but I like real food instead). [/QUOTE] Fine, but meat is not the only “real food” source of protein. Cutting out meat one day a week would be very unlikely to endanger the nutritional quality of any American’s diet. That said, if you would really feel deprived by going without meat on Mondays, I promise I won’t report you to the LA City Council. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2012, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meatless-monday-l-a-is-getting-weirder-and-weirder/640819/18 "2012-11-13T00:37:02Z")
> [@Simplicio](#): > > Surely you didn’t just type a four paragraph rant before taking the time to read the OP’s two sentence quote from the article noting that the LA City Council is not banning anyone from doing anything? > > Its just a public health awareness campaign. a “public health awareness campaign” from a group of people who haven’t shown they know the first thing about health is worthless. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2012, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meatless-monday-l-a-is-getting-weirder-and-weirder/640819/19 "2012-11-13T00:38:59Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > No, the “Meatless Mondays” campaign is not claiming that meat is intrinsically unhealthy or bad for you. They’re just pointing out that medical recommendations support cutting down the **frequency** of meat-eating in the typical American diet. the medical establishment still thinks we should eat lots of grains. So they’re welcome to piss right off. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2012, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meatless-monday-l-a-is-getting-weirder-and-weirder/640819/20 "2012-11-13T01:24:07Z")
> [@jz78817](#): > > a “public health awareness campaign” from a group of people who haven’t shown they know the first thing about health is worthless. Most legislative bodies that promote public health awareness campaigns are not made up of doctors or public health specialists. I doubt that any of the legislators who voted for anti-smoking programs were experts on the epidemiology of cancer, for example. Nope, the legislators are generally just following recommendations from medical and public health organizations, such as the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, one of the supporters of the modern “Meatless Monday” campaign. [QUOTE=jz78817] the medical establishment still thinks we should eat lots of grains. So they’re welcome to piss right off. [/quote] It seems kind of a pity for the LA City Council to be deprived of the enlightenment of your profound nutritional expertise, so maybe you should [write them a letter about it](http://www.lacity.org/SubMenu/ContactUs/index.htm). Now, you want it to look properly impressive, so I’d say use the ruled paper to keep the lines straight, and make sure the crayon is nice and sharp. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meatless-monday-l-a-is-getting-weirder-and-weirder/640819.md?page=2)