Meatless Monday began in 2003, launched in association with the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. In May, 2009, Ghent, Belgium, became the first non-U.S. city to go meatless. Shortly thereafter, Paul McCartney introduced the U.K. to Meat-Free Mondays. Meatless Monday is now active in 44 countries and growing because every nation can bring its unique culture, customs and cuisine to the table in meat free and vegetarian dishes. See our new Global Meatless Monday map on Pinterest. Skipping meat one day a week is good for you, great for your nation’s health, and fantastic for the planet. In Bhutan, Meatless Monday is known as "Jangsem Monday". Jangsem actually translates as "Bodhicitta" in the Sanskrit language, which is taught by the Buddha and Buddhist masters as the essence of enlightenment. Jangsem serves as reminder to think beyond yourself and to think of others. We plan to promote Jangsem Monday through vegetarian recipes, gardening, getting local politicians, actors, singers, bands and artist to join the movement. We are working to visit schools in Bhutan to encourage students to understand the connection between good health (self and planet) and going meatless. Further, we are working to spread the movement to hotels and restaurants, and also promoting vegetarian restaurants. We will Promote Meatless Monday by featuring participants of schools, communities and people who are going meatless on Monday, online, on the radio and on T.V. We believe that Jangsem Monday is possible because it is healthy, Eco-friendly and easy; and hey!! It's just "1" day :)
