Meatless Monday began in the early 2000s and grew into a well-known global movement aimed at reducing meat consumption. The name was coined by Sid Lerner, a public health advocate who worked in advertising, in coordination with the Center for a Livable Future at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Meatless Monday was inspired by meatless days during World Wars I and II when there were food shortages. At that time, a sense of patriotism motivated people to eat less meat so that U.S. troops and Allies in Europe could have enough. The modern movement mainly focuses on reducing meat consumption for reasons related to personal health, the environment, climate change, and animal welfare. But the same idea from a century ago applies — a small reduction in overall meat consumption on a regular basis can have a big impact if enough people participate in the movement. And the history of the movement shows that it’s doable. Many people are willing to give up meat at least one day a week.

This study aims to increase awareness of the history of the Meatless Monday movement and how it has expanded since 2003, along with the history of meatless days during World Wars I and II. The authors found that during the decades when the Meatless Monday movement spread, more attention — from the scientific community and the public — was given to the problems associated with meat production and consumption, which boosted awareness of the movement as a promising solution.

The main sources for the study were newspapers and other articles published between 2002 and 2023. The authors searched publications in English as well as Spanish, Portuguese, and French. They compared and contrasted the two historical periods and the related movements to reduce meat consumption.

The review describes how Sid Lerner saw the problems with the industrial production of meat and animal products and decided that he would focus on helping people reduce their meat consumption. Drawing on his experience in advertising and the public health expertise of others, the movement built on the history of meatless days during the two world wars, which were prompted by food shortages.

In the U.S., the Food Administration lacked the authority to ration food, so they relied on efforts to persuade the public to conserve dwindling supplies, particularly meat. This took the form of the government encouraging people through advertising and slogans to forgo meat one day a week, but individual choice wasn’t restricted. Meatless Tuesdays were observed in major cities across the country. Shortly after World War II ended, a poll showed that 22% of people observed meatless Tuesdays and 38% were planning to participate. By the time the modern Meatless Monday campaign began, the older generation remembered meatless days during the Second World War. Now, a new generation began sending and receiving the message that reducing meat consumption is a worthy goal.

Sid Lerner chose Monday because he thought that was the day people are most willing to make a change to their usual habits. And, of course, the alliteration makes it easy to remember. He also made Meatless Monday “free and open-source” by design so that it could easily spread.

As Meatless Monday spread to cities, schools, hospitals, and workplaces, the meat industry pushed back. But the movement continued to grow as celebrities spoke out about it. Between 2005 and 2021, awareness of Meatless Monday increased from about 9% to 38% of surveyed adults in the United States. Peak awareness occurred in 2011 when half of respondents had heard of Meatless Monday. Of those aware of the campaign, 27% said that they had changed their behavior as a result — similar to the percentage of people who cut back on meat during World War II.

The authors discovered that despite limited funding for advertising, the Meatless Monday movement spread by word of mouth and in the media. The growth of Meatless Monday coincided with increasing awareness of the links between meat production and consumption and harms to health and climate change. Meatless Monday initiatives hoped to address those concerns and found their way to more than 40 countries outside of the United States.

Despite the movement’s appeal, the authors found a lack of research evaluating its impacts on public awareness and behavior change. They suggest future research to better understand what type of messaging is most effective, as well as the long-term effects of behavior change influenced by Meatless Monday, motivating factors, and environmental impacts.

This review can be used by animal advocates to better understand the history of the Meatless Monday movement. Knowing what has worked well in the past to motivate behavior change can influence future campaigns. It can also be useful for advocates to understand the limitations of movements, even one as well known as Meatless Monday, to impact significant changes in meat consumption.