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Q&A

Please don’t squeeze the Charmin, or eat meat on Mondays

Diana Rice, a registered dietitian with the Monday Campaigns.Lee Rubenstein/Monday Campaigns

What could the ’60s ad slogan “Please don’t squeeze the Charmin” possibly have in common with Meatless Monday, the public health campaign that asks people to skip meat one day a week? Both are the creation of retired advertising executive Sid Lerner. When Lerner, one of the original “Mad Men,” was advised by doctors in 2003 to reduce his intake of saturated fats by cutting back on meat, he not only achieved that goal but put on his marketer’s hat and created the Meatless Monday idea, which he gave its own slogan: “For your health and the health of the planet.”

Diana Rice, a registered dietitian with the Monday Campaigns, parent organization of Meatless Monday, spoke about the origins and impact of the campaign while visiting Boston for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics annual conference. She also talked about “The Meat Free Monday Cookbook: A Full Menu for Every Monday of the Year,” edited by Annie Rigg with a forward by Paul, Mary, and Stella McCartney.

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Q. How did Meatless Monday begin?

A. It dates back to World War I and World War II, when the government recommended that citizens do their civic duty by cutting back or forgoing meat one day a week to conserve valuable rations for the troops. The founder and chairman of what is now called the Monday Campaigns was a boy at the time. His doctors were telling him to eat less meat, and he’s thinking, “What am I going to do? What if I just skip meat one full day a week?” — recalling the wartime efforts. He partnered with John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and the Center for a Livable Future and revived Meatless Monday as a public health campaign.

Q. Other than history, is there any significance to choosing Monday?

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A. Monday is the day, our research shows, that we all subconsciously have health on the brain. We asked people in our national surveys what day are you most likely to start an exercise routine, start a diet, call and schedule a doctor’s appointment, try to quit smoking, and Monday is much higher than any other day.

Q. How was the idea received in 2003?

A. I think that people were ready for it. If you recall, the Atkins diet was really popular back then. People were starting to realize there were issues with consuming so much animal protein. And also, the environmental element was really starting to gain attention. Even schoolchildren were asking, what can I do? What’s important about the way our campaign works is we’re not saying that meat’s terrible for the environment and you have to go vegan to address this problem. That’s not going to work for 90 to 95 percent of people. But imagine the impact if instead of 5 percent of people going vegan, we had 95 percent of people reducing their meat intake by one-seventh. That’s what we’re after.

Q. How did Paul McCartney and his family come on board to produce the cookbook?

A. As our social media started to take off, it became a global movement. We now have a presence in more than 40 countries around the world. Sir Paul McCartney is a vegetarian and adopted the campaign in his own incarnation called “Meat Free Monday” in 2009. The McCartneys had a lot of celebrity and well-known UK chefs wanting to contribute and do something. The cookbook is a guide. It’s really interesting to see the meatless recipes from all the different cultures, because in most cultures, including way-back-when in our culture, they did not have access to meat for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. And that’s part of the problem that we’re now facing with our meat consumption. We’re just consuming more than we’re meant to.

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Q. Meatless Monday is popular with schools. Why’s that?

A. Huge school districts — Los Angeles, San Diego, Detroit, and I believe Boston — serve Meatless Monday school lunches. For one, it’s a cost-saving measure. The director of food service in Detroit actually does Meatless Monday and Thursday. It allows her to serve fresh produce every day of the week when she’s not spending for meat. The children are also learning that not every single meal that crosses their plate has to have meat in it.

Q. How should people think about planning a meat-free day?

A. So many meals that we think of as standard American diet — pizza, burgers, tacos — they don’t necessarily hinge on meat. Instead of ground beef in your lasagna, use chopped-up mushrooms. It’s the same dish that you’re used to eating, but you’re drastically changing the nutrient composition by putting in a plant substitute. I made a taco recipe that is just like the same crunchy tacos with guacamole and salsa that I normally do, but with seasoned lentils instead of ground beef. “Meatless Eating 101” is swapping in something that is a plant-based substitute for meat or making recipes that don’t rely on meat in the first place. The classic example is an eggplant Parmesan. How delicious is that?

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Michael Floreak can be reached at michaelfloreak@gmail.com