NCC starts their weeks by cutting the meat

If you could cut out any part of your usual diet on Mondays, what would it be?

At NCC, students have the option to trim an important part of most diets — meat.

That is the basis of the Meatless Monday program that caters to the vegan and vegetarian populations at the school.

Meatless Monday is an international campaign in which people are encouraged to go an entire day without eating meat and instead opt for other food choices such as vegetables.

The program has attracted such stars as Oprah, Sir Paul McCartney and Simon Cowell to encourage people to eat more healthfully on Mondays.

Meatless Monday is just in its infancy at NCC, said Stacy Beaty, a second-year Biology major who is president of the college’s Sprouts Vegetarian Club.

“We launched the program in the fall of last year,” she said.

“A lot of faculty and staff have been really supportive of the program which really changed the face of the food court here,” Beaty said.

The Sprouts Vegetarian Club meets at 11 a.m. every Thursday in College Center 292.

It’s not just the Meatless Monday program that has benefited NCC, but the entire menu caters to students, said food court Executive Chef Char Hartley.

A lot of the menu “is driven by student suggestions,” he said.

There are other “Monday Campaigns” promoting better health at the college and around the world, including “Move It Monday”, “Quit and Stay Quit Monday” and “Man Up Monday.”

Like Meatless Monday, these campaigns are designed to encourage people to pursue more healthful lifestyles beginning on Mondays.

For more on Meatless Monday and other Monday campaigns, visit www.mondaycampaigns.org