Spring Into Vegetarianism

Today is the 23rd Great American Meatout, an observance held each year on the first day of spring to increase awareness of the benefits of a meat-free diet and to provide information to help people successfully go vegetarian.

Activists hold events ranging from distributing Meatout handouts in their community to organizing vegan dinners to holding fund-raising walks. The Meatout is coordinated by FARM , a nonprofit group "advocating plant-based (vegan) diets for animal protection, environmental sustainability, and optimal health."

The theme of this year's Meatout is "Stop Global Warming" -- highlighting information about the environmental toll animal agriculture takes on the Earth.

FARM maintains an online list of Meatout events around the world. (There are separate sites for France, where the observance is "Journee sans Viande" and Germany, where it is "Gesund ohne Fleisch.") It even has electronic greeting cards that you can email your friends to wish them a happy Meatout, here.

FARM has a companion campaign, Meatout Mondays. This electronic newsletter offers a recipe, reviews, and more each week to help to keep the Meatout spirit all year round. Judging from the past issues, which are available online, this is worth subscribing to.