Group Refutes Accuracy of Meatless Monday Statistics

ARLINGTON, Va.Schools, restaurants and hospitals that once were enrolled in the "Meatless Monday" campaign no longer participate, but the campaign continues to claim their popularity in the movement,  according to the recent data from the Animal Agriculture Alliance.

Since the inception of the Meatless Monday campaign 10 years ago, the Alliance has monitored the progress  and analyzed the overall effects of the campaign noting that it has not been as popular as the campaign claims to be.

The participation has decreased showing that out of the 56 K-12 participants, 64.2% never, or no longer participate. Out of the 155 colleges/universities, 43.2% never, or no longer participate and out of the school districts listed, 57% no longer participate. In addition, restaurants (35%) and food service providers (47%) no longer participate.

These results are truly astounding. When we started the project, we didnt expect nearly as many organizations to not actually be participating in the program," said Alliance President and CEO Kay Johnson Smith. The Meatless Monday campaign tries to promote a reduction in meat, milk and egg consumption as trendy, but clearly it hasnt taken off as strongly as theyd hoped."

The reasoning behind the decrease vary from parent complaints to the dislike of meatless choices, such as salads and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

In addition, the Alliance also noted that some interviewed, such as the Texas Health Resources, had no idea how they appeared on the website. "We're a corporate office and have nothing to do with meal services," they said.