Dutch Ministries save one million litres of water with Meat Less Mondays

During three months, less meat was consumed each Monday at the Dutch Ministries of Defense, Infrastructure and the Environment, Social Affairs and Employment, and Foreign Affairs. Sodexo and Paresto, the organizations in charge of the catering at the ministries, have decided to continue the Meat Less Mondays for an indefinite duration.

In three months time, with on average 1380 guests per day during lunchtime, the consumption of meat products was reduced with 160 kilograms.[1] That is a reduction of more than 19% compared to a similar three month period last year. With this reduction, the employees of the ministries have saved almost 1 million (963.736) litres of water[2] and 1673 kilograms of animal feed.[3] With this pilot, also the emission of the greenhouse gas CO2 was reduced, with 1766 kilograms.[4] That equals 30 car rides from Amsterdam to Paris (15.350 km).

 Eating less meat is one of the most effective ways to contribute to a sustainable food system. Worldwide, 80% of all agricultural land is used for livestock farming and the production of animal feed. For the production of 1 kilogram of beef, 25 kilograms of feed and 15.000 litres of water are needed. Livestock farming is responsible for the emission of 18% of all greenhouse gasses worldwide. With the Meat Less Monday, the Dutch ministries show that it is possible to have a positive impact on the environment by eating less meat for one day per week, without compromising on taste. Moreover, it encourages employees to also choose more plant-based foods on other days. A survey that was conducted during the pilot period shows that the opinions on the new food on offer vary, but the Meat Less Monday scores a 6,9 on average.

The pilot started on the 3rd of November 2014, and ended on the 3rd of February 2015.


[1] Meat products: All products that partly or entirely consist of meat.  For the calculation of the results, we calculated the percentage of meat in each product and used that for the calculation of the amount of water, energy and greenhouse gasses saved. For that, we used the following sources:

[4] Source CO2 emission: Compendium voor de Leefomgeving


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