New York City Accepts the #MeatOutChallenge

Great news! Newly elected NYC Mayor Eric Adams has accepted the #MeatoutChallenge for New York City. The Big Apple has just joined the growing list of cities proclaiming March 20, 2022, MeatOut Day.

NYC plans to celebrate the proclamation through March 25, beginning with a special event at P.S. Kitchen, located at 246 W 48^th Street, on March 20. At the same time, activists are planning numerous other MeatOut events for New York City’s 8.4 million citizens.

“As a New Yorker myself, I am particularly proud of this proclamation,” said Eric C Lindstrom, Executive Director of FARM. “The advances Mayor Adams has made toward a plant-based future, and Vegan Fridays in New York City schools, align perfectly with our mission and the mission of MeatOut.”

Getting Healthy By Going Plant-Based

In his informative and honest book, Healthy At Last, Mayor Adams personally advocates the health benefits of a plant-based diet. Adams switched to a plant-based diet in 2016 after nearly losing his sight to Type 2 diabetes. Many of his doctors claimed the nerve damage in his hands and feet, along with the eye damage, was irreversible. Mayor Adams’ book documents his plant-based recovery and health journey after years on the junk-food wagon.

Mayor Adams has also championed “Vegan Fridays” in New York City’s public schools. Vegan options are available daily in school cafeterias, and every Friday’s primary offering will be vegan. According to Adams, “I can’t tell people what to put on their grills on the weekend. But darn it, we should not be feeding the health care crisis in our prisons, our hospitals, and most importantly, in our schools, so we want to go in a more healthy direction.”

History of Meatout

MeatOut was founded in 1985 by Farm Animal Rights Movement (FARM) to bring awareness to the health and environmental benefits of a plant-based diet and the impact these choices have on farmed animals. MeatOut reaches a global audience each year through educational events and plant-based food samplings.

March 20 is the first day of spring in 2022. Consumer and animal protection advocates in seven hundred communities across the 50 states and 24 other countries welcome spring with educational events promoting plant-based eating. In the past, hundreds of mayors and the governors of nearly 40 additional states have issued similar proclamations.

The list of participating cities in 2022 include (so far):

• Houston, Texas
• Dallas, Texas
• Charlotte, North Carolina
• Durham, North Carolina
• Columbus, Georgia
• Louisville, Kentucky
• Cincinnati, Ohio
• Madison, Wisconsin
• New York City, New York
• Riverside, California
• Fort Wayne, Indiana
• Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
• Virginia Beach, Virginia

Take Action For Your City

Don’t let your city get left out! Contact your state or local representatives to proclaim March 20 MeatOut Day as well, visit this MeatOut Proclamation 2022 link for a template letter to send.

And while you’re there enter in the Meatout NextMeat giveaway where one lucky person will win $120 in FREE vegan meats delivered to your door (U.S. residents only).

For more information on MeatOut, visit MeatOut.org.