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A Meatless Monday Evaluation and Best Practices Guide for Reducing Meat Consumption in Food Service Institutions: A Qualitative Study
Author(s) -
Chan Mandy,
Ramsing Rebecca
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.31.1_supplement.651.5
Subject(s) - sustainability , business , qualitative research , best practice , marketing , food service , service (business) , consumption (sociology) , creativity , medical education , public relations , psychology , medicine , political science , sociology , ecology , law , biology , social science , social psychology
Meatless Monday began in 2003 as an effort to reduce meat consumption, aiming to improve the sustainability of our food system and benefit human health. Until recently, there has been little evaluation of the program and a lack of consensus regarding implementation best practices. The Center for Livable Future and Bon Appétit Management Company (BAMCO) partnered to evaluate Meatless Monday implementation and create a Meatless Monday Best Practices Guide. We conducted qualitative interviews with 16 participants from 12 BAMCO sites (primarily college/university settings) across the United States. Participants included general managers, marketing managers, sustainability staff, and executive and sous chefs. We utilized HyperRESEARCH to code and analyze common themes. Promising practices included increasing choice, not completely eliminating meat, and investing more time and creativity into preparing plant‐based foods. Food service staff were more likely to contribute to the success of programs if they created and actively promoted flavorful, appealing plant‐based dishes. A challenge included pushback from students (particularly athletes) and leadership staff when sites initially eliminated meat completely. Sites responded to pushback by incorporating student feedback, including increasing choice and eliminating meat only at one station within a dining facility. Additionally, there was a need for education regarding Meatless Monday's messaging and protein content in plant‐based foods. A majority of sites collaborated with student groups that were often involved in promoting the campaigns. Students were more receptive to a campaign if they saw colleagues represent the cause. Overall, sites that were adaptive to challenges and consistent in their implementation were most successful. We observed a growth in adopting meat reduction strategies in efforts to improve human health and the sustainability of our food system. This qualitative research adds context to previous quantitative research, provides a narrative of strategies that can be tailored to different food service institutions, and promotes individual and institutional change in meat consumption.