Los Angeles City Council Embraces ‘Meatless Mondays’ Campaign

Nov 12, 2012

Who’s Defining Who? Animal Agriculture Being Defined by Meatless Monday Campaign Needs to Wake Up and Define Themselves

The global ‘Meatless Mondays’ campaign is gaining momentum that’s symbolic in nature as Los Angeles City Council passed a resolution to declare all Monday’s going forward to be meatless. The resolution won’t include law enforcement measures, but it’s meant to encourage residents not to eat meat once a week.

The controversial campaign seeks to reduce meat consumption for what they are calling health and environmental reasons. The Meatless Monday’s initiative is organized by a non-profit group that works with the Johns Hopkins’ Bloomberg School of Public Health. The campaign has support groups around the globe that seek to push their agenda of weekly vegetarianism to achieve their cause of improved health, sustainability and mitigating climate change. While their message is controversial in nature, it’s been fairly successful - all at the expense of public perceptions about animal agriculture.

Earlier this year, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) released a controversial internal employee newsletter encouraging Meatless Monday’s – which they later retracted saying that the newsletter was released without proper approval. This action caused a firestorm in the agriculture world, especially those involved in animal agriculture. While any future promotion of this campaign has been put to a stop by the USDA, this one example highlights some of the success of the campaign and how the champions of vegetarianism have been very good at defining animal agriculture before they have even had a chance to define themselves.

When I talk about who’s defining who, I am talking about whom or what side is winning the public relations battle. The Meatless Monday campaign has done a good job attempting to link animal agriculture to larger social issues such as obesity, diabetes and greenhouse gas emissions. While these claims may not represent the whole truth, their message is resonating as with the example of the USDA and now the Los Angeles City Council. Now more than ever, it’s crucial those involved in agriculture and more specifically animal agriculture production to debunk some of this misconceptions, reveal the whole truth, and stop playing defense.

Video: Will the 2025 USDA December Crop Report Be a Market Mover/Surprise?

Historically, the USDA December crop report is a non-event or another dud report as the USDA reserves any final supply changes to the final report in January of the following year in this case 2026. But after the longest U.S. government shutdown in history at 43 days and no October crop report will they provide more data/surprise and make an exception?
Our China U.S. soybean purchase tracker is now at 26.6% or a total of 3.2 mmt but for traders it’s taking too long to unfold.
The final Stats Canada production report was bearish canola and wheat projection a record crop in both (it adds to the global glut of supplies) and bullish local corn and soybean prices in Ontario/Quebec thanks to a drought. It will not help the fund flow short-term, the USDA may need to offset it?
A U.S. Fed interest rate cut of another 25-basis point next Wednesday (probability 87.1%) could help fund flow and sentiment in stock and ag commodities into year end.
More inflows into Bitcoin this past week saw prices rebound back above 90,000 with support at 82,000 and resistance at 96,000.
A V-shaped bottom in cattle suggest the lows are in after Mexico reported another new world screwworm case. Lower weights, seasonal demand and higher U.S. beef select/choice values with a continued closure of the Mexican border to cattle will result in a resumption of higher cattle futures into yearend.
Australia is expected to produce its 3rd largest wheat crop ever at 36 mmt adding to the global glut of supplies.
Reports of ASF in hogs in Spain the largest pork exporter in Europe could see the U.S. win more pork export business long-term.
If the rains verify into next week of 3-5 inches for Brazil it would go a long way to fixing the dry regions from the last 2-months, but the European weather model has been wrong for the past 2-months!
Natural gas futures are surging to the 3rd price count as frigid hold temps set in.
CDN $ is also surging to end the week on a very resilient economy and better employment numbers suggesting no interest rate cuts next week.
Finally, the CFTC report showed funds were net buyers of soybeans but sellers of corn, canola and wheat. In real time the funds have gone back to selling as they take some profits.