Meatless Monday on Capitol Hill Spurs Controversy

Restaurant Associates, a dining company that provides food for Capitol Hill cafeterias, was recently criticized by livestock trade groups for attempting to employ a Meatless Monday campaign earlier this month. “Meatless Mondays is an acknowledged tool of animal rights and environmental organizations who seek to publicly denigrate US livestock and poultry production,” wrote the trade groups in a letter to the House Administration Committee, “[it alleges] we provide unhealthy foods, while contributing disproportionately to climate change and environmental damage.” This is the second time that the animal industry has openly opposed the meat-free initiative on Capitol Hill—last year the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association castigated the Department of Agriculture for promoting Meatless Monday in a newsletter.