Every year on 20 March, Meat Out Day is celebrated – the global day without meat – encouraging people to remove animal proteins from their plate for one day, as a reminder of the importance of our everyday choices, including those around food.

Meat Out Day: the benefits of a plant-based diet

Doing so should not be seen as a sacrifice – quite the opposite. The benefits of a plant-based diet for health, the environment and animals are undisputed, and in Italy, one in two people has already reduced their meat consumption. Young people are certainly the most aware. Yet according to Crea, the average consumption of legumes (the primary plant-based source of protein) in our country stands at just 9 g per day. Meat consumption, on the other hand, reaches 143 g among teenagers and 124 g among adults.

Scientists and researchers meanwhile point out that eating beans, lentils and chickpeas is far more beneficial for our health: they are a source of protein, iron, zinc, B vitamins and fibre, and are associated with a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease, obesity, diabetes and certain forms of cancer. In short, we need to "rediscover the biblical plate of lentils", as explained by Giulia Cairella, a member of the Italian Society of Human Nutrition.

Data on meat consumption

Meat consumption is also one of the main causes of emissions and pollutants, so much so that according to the IPCC, a plant-based diet would reduce greenhouse gas emissions by nearly 8 billion tonnes per year, equivalent to the combined emissions of India and the United States. In addition to requiring less energy, water resources and land use, and being beneficial from a health standpoint, a plant-based diet also has the enormous advantage of avoiding the suffering and death of a vast number of animals: in Italy alone, we are talking about over 650 million animals slaughtered, including cows, calves, pigs, chickens, hens and rabbits (BDN 2025 data). Fish are excluded from this figure, as they are not counted as individuals but by tonnage, due to the extremely high number of specimens slaughtered.

According to estimates by Animal Charity Evaluators, for every person who chooses a plant-based diet each year, at least 105 animals are spared, not counting invertebrates such as shrimps, octopuses, cuttlefish, clams, mussels and other molluscs.

IoScelgoVeg

For anyone who wants to move towards a more sustainable and locally sourced diet but doesn't know where to start, Essere Animali has created IoScelgoVeg, a website packed with tips, plant-based recipes and a continuously updated map where you can find vegan-friendly restaurants and venues across Italy.