Veggies for the win.

If you missed the Malta Free Meat Week challenge organised by VeggyMalta from October 18 until 24,  you’re not too late to do something about it! Friends of the Earth supported this initiative through its social media channels by promoting benefits of a meat free diet, sharing some inspirational recipes and providing information about local and seasonal grown vegetables and fruits. This way, we tried to show that a meat-free diet can be fun, diverse and satisfying, and at the same time contribute to a greener and fairer world.

Three facts why you should care about the challenge:

#1: 6 million animals are killed for food every hour. In just one day, over 150 million animals are killed for food around the world.

#2: The production of beef is the single biggest cause of deforestation in the Amazon and other rain forests.

#3: By eating a hamburger, you are essentially chopping off part of a rain-forest, which is not only a natural carbon sink, but also an irreplaceable home for biodiversity. 

Three benefits of a meat-free diet:

#1: 10 bathtubs of water can be saved if you choose a veggie burger just once.

#2: 45 trees can be saved if you replace 500 grams of beef with veggies.

#3: 5,500,000 kilometres driven – that’s the amount of emissions we can save if everyone in Malta chose to eat just one less beef burger this Monday.

Cutting out meat for just one day a week makes a considerable change. The impact can be even bigger if it’s a week, or even a month. Acting as a collective, of course, will lead to a greater change and make a significant difference.
Challenges like this are a good way to get started as people are supported throughout by the initiator, and also by a community that undergoes the same experience. Exchanging knowledge, progress and feelings with each other can be very supportive and inspirational.

As already mentioned, Friends of the Earth took this challenge also as an initiative to inform about the benefits of locally grown veggies and fruits. Buying local produce also supports our farmers and preserves our rural landscape. Moreover, the carbon footprint is small, since they are not being imported from all over the globe. In addition to that, fruits and vegetables are packed with more flavour and nutrients as they are picked fresh during the season.

The Agro Katina Report is the product of Friends of the Earth Malta’s research into the local vegetable and fruit supply chain and the agricultural sector in Malta. We strongly believe in shorter supply chains as these have a positive impact on local farmers, strengthen local economies and small businesses, and bring the public closer to their food sources at the same time.

The report can be downloaded on our website following this link.
To be informed about the seasons of locally grown fruits and vegetables in Malta, we have created an Agro Katina pocket guide, which can be found on our website as well following this link. 
Check out our Malta Farm Map to see where you can buy directly from a local farmer. 

Written by Marika Schoenherr