VEGGIEDAG!

The Belgian city of Ghent is about to become the first in the world to go vegetarian at least once a week.

Starting this week there will be a regular weekly meatless day, in which civil servants and elected councillors will opt for vegetarian meals.

Ghent means to recognize the impact of livestock on the environment.

The UN says livestock is responsible for nearly one-fifth of global greenhouse gas emissions, hence Ghent's declaration of a weekly "veggie day".

Public officials and politicians will be the first to give up meat for a day.

Schoolchildren will follow suit with their own veggiedag in September.

It is hoped the move will cut Ghent's environmental footprint and help tackle obesity.

Around 90,000 so-called "veggie street maps" are now being printed to help people find the city's vegetarian eateries.

maybe it would work in toronto or montreal or vancouver. according to wikipedia, "The metropolitan area, including the outer commuter zone, covers an area of 1,205 km² and has a total population of 594,582 as of 1 January 2008, which ranks it as the fourth most populous in Belgium."

i'm excited for this to potentially work. it's gimicky enough for people to try it i think. get good publisists working on the project. health canada and the people who do milk and cheese campaigns. or "good things grow-ohh in ontario-oh" jingle writers. who will head up this project and where is the place to start it in canada...