Well, it used to be meatless Friday. But I would still be suspicious of this.

Jeepers, what next in our great effort to deny people that which sustains life, or at least makes it enjoyable. No-air Saturday? Washless Wednesday? Gaia-helping Euthenasia Sunday? Lunatics. If you go to the Meatless Monday website the above comment that the project is not aimed at denying kids meat is false. Excellent fact checking again.

"Meatless Monday"...this has a vegan message written all over it. Wrong very wrong.

"Scientists have discovered that going veggie could be bad for your brain, with those on a meat-free diet six times more likely to suffer brain shrinkage. Vegans and vegetarians are the most likely to be deficient because the best sources of the vitamin are meat, particularly liver, milk and fish. Vitamin B12 deficiency can also cause anaemia and inflammation of the nervous system. Yeast extracts are one of the few vegetarian foods which provide good levels of the vitamin. The link was discovered by Oxford University scientists who used memory tests, physical checks and brain scans to examine 107 people between the ages of 61 and 87. When the volunteers were retested five years later the medics found those with the lowest levels of vitamin B12 were also the most likely to have brain shrinkage. It confirms earlier research showing a link between brain atrophy and low levels of B12. " Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com Those American kids better get a liking for Vegemite by the sounds of it. Children need a balanced diet from the major food groups, let them decide about veganism when they are old enough to make a judgement.

Exellent point Grazier; not only is vegan/vegie an inferior diet which is no longer suitable for us, it is being imposed here on children who have no say in that decision. In any case, if God didn't want us to eat animals He wouldn't have made them out of meat.

It's no accident that the huge increase in technology and learning across the Western world has coincided with the increased availability of red meat in the everyday diet of the average person. Having said that, all things in moderation. The problem with humans is they have trouble with this concept. If a little bit as good a whole lot must be wonderful. Alternatively if too much is bad then none at all must be excellent. A balance in anything including diet seems to be something some people have trouble achieving.

I just went to the feedstuffs website and read the Meatless Monday clarified article. I can't see a problem - it's just trying to teach the kids a good common sense approach to a balanced diet. No one wants their kids eating Big Macs and fries every day. Sadly this is the only meat a lot of city kids see.

How about Maccas free Monday? Fast food free Friday?

I'm all for connecting the farm to the fork education. Truth about nutrition is also valuable, in particular the fact that meat is not an essential part of a healthy diet. Tours of extensive farms, intensive production sheds, feedlots, dairy production, mulesing sessions, bobby calf production, and abattoirs, plus lessons on resource use and pollution of all food production, should be a standard mandatory part of all primary and secondary school curriculums. Many schools and families take great joy in planting, nurturing and harvesting their own veggie gardens. Unfortunately most children, and adults, may not feel terribly joyous or proud about about intensive farming or slaughtering of animals. Think there is still quite a bit of work to do on the honesty front for the MLA.

I try my best to just eat meat on Mondays now, to make up for this stupid scheme!