An alumnus writes to us about embracing the “Meatless Monday” campaign.
To the Editor:
As a Creighton alum, I’m surprised by the backlash over the “Meatless Monday” campaign. Most unsettling is the callous response by some, citing market demand and individual taste as reason enough to end this effort. Why not embrace this as an opportunity to live the Creighton mission and extend the collective values of the campus to the dining table?
Changing our diet is a small gesture in mindfulness – accepting our sharedplace on this planet with billions of other humans, animals and scarce resources. It is an opportunity to better one’s health. It is an opportunity to slowly dial back runaway environmental destruction. And, most importantly, it is an opportunity to consider the plight of other sentient creatures whose existence is reduced to the form of a nugget or burger.
Being part of a progressive institution with an eye towards social justice, Creighton alumni, students, faculty and staff differentiate themselves by questioning societal norms and challenging the status quo. We set an example by leading the charge towards wellness, conservation and equal rights. We do this through the simplest of actions – like what we put on
our plates.
The Creighton mission states that the education provided is “directed to the intellectual, social, spiritual, physical and
recreational aspects of students’ lives and to the promotion of justice.”
Religious or secular, we all have the opportunity to take small steps towards living these words and not just saying them. “Meatless Monday” offers us the chance to do this – even if just once a week.
Adam Orand
Class of ’99