Last week we were invited to the Cape Town launch of Green Monday South Africa. Keen to know more, we made our way down to the uber-cool, steampunk, Truth Coffee in Buitenkant Street.
After being treated to delectable starters (animal product free!), yummy almond-milk cappuccinos and chilled tunes courtesy of the band, the Rivertones, we got down to business.
Brinjal & baby corn starter (Courtesy Green Monday SA)
Tozie Zokufa, the programme manager for Humane Society International, took us through the Green Monday initiative.
The purpose of Green Monday SA is to encourage the consumption of plant-based meals (no meat, egg or dairy) one day of the week (Monday!) among South Africans. It’s an easy, simple change that can can have big benefits.
The main benefits quoted were to:
- improve your own health,
- help animals (many animals raised for food are kept in appalling conditions) and
- reduce the environmental footprint caused by the animal-agricultural sector (the sector is a big contributor to climate change, water use and water pollution). I was shocked to hear that on average, 4323 litres of water is required to produce 1kg of chicken. That is insane! Especially in a water-scarce country like South Africa.
Other benefits include the cheaper cost of eating plant-based meals, how much quicker it is to prepare and the delicious taste – all of which I can attest to personally!
The food they served at the event was seriously tasty! If you’re a bit confused on what food to make, these guys put together innovative recipes you can check out here. I’ll definitely be trying out some of those recipes. My favourites were the corn fritter starter, ‘chicken’ nuggets and the spicy ‘chicken’ strips (made with Fry’s Family Foods).
Menu (courtesy of Green Monday SA)
Many organisations are already involved with Green Monday. Among them are: Fry’s Family Foods, Truth Coffee Roasting, Green Peace Africa, Beauty Without Cruelty, Hungry Herbivore, Baboon Matters Trust, Soil For Life, GRASS Consumer Food Action, Plant, SAFCEI and Greyton Transition Town.
Black been beef and pepper (courtesy of Green Monday SA)
Celebs have also taken the pledge, including Chef Kamini Pather, Justin Bonello, Braam Malherbe, Natalie Becker, Siv Ngesi, Ewan Strydom, Nicole Flint, Armand du Plessis, Vanessa Haywood, Anji Woodley, Tamerin Jardine and Stevie French (several that attended the launch).
If you want to make socially and environmental responsible choices and join the movement, take the pledge. I have, will you?
Make a difference:
Eating green and taking the Green Monday pledge today! Reduce your intake of plant based products.
Learn more about Green eating at greenmondaysa.co.za, and spread the word by giving talks and distributing information at your school, office, place of worship, or other places in your community.
Encourage retailers, schools, restaurants & hotels to increase their offerings of delicious, healthy plant-based foods.
Further the conversation on animal welfare, sustainability, and equity within the food system. Ask your food retailer if their eggs are sourced from cage-free or free range farms.
Support small, emerging farmers practicing more animal welfare friendly and sustainable agriculture.
If your institution, organization, or company would like to help, contact Green Monday to find out how to become a partner! We’ll send you lots of tips on ways to promote Green eating and how to implement Green Monday at your organization.
Visit www.greenmonday.co.za like https://www.facebook.com/GreenMondaySA and follow @GreenMondaySA on Twitter #GreenMondaySA.
Check out some more pics from the event (all courtesy of Green Monday SA)
Ewan Strydom & Leigh-Ann Williams, Expresso
Jonathan Zurel & Claire Winstanley, Afternoon Express
The Rivertones
Tozie Zakufa & Chetana Mirle from HSI
Amy & Tim-Rankin with Plant-based chocolate brownies from Plant
Elizabeth, Abeli, Lori, Cohen (Greater Than) & Tozi Zokufa (HSI) & Galia
– Rif