The Week Without Meat & Dairy in the Netherlands
The fifth edition of the Dutch National Week Zonder Vlees (Without Meat) will take place from the 7th – 13th of March 2022. Since the first edition in March 2018, this sustainability campaign has been an annual initiative that shows that eating less meat has a positive impact on the climate. New this year is the addition ‘& Dairy’. In addition to reducing meat, dairy also has a very dominant effect on the climate. During the Dutch National Week Without Meat & Dairy 2022, participants are therefore challenged not only to forgo meat, but also to try to replace dairy. You can register here!
In the past year we have also seen a number of restaurants and Dutch chains, such as Bram Ladage and Eazie, which responded to this Dutch week last year. It remains a great idea to tempt your guests to choose a special vegetarian menu during this week!
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Addition ‘& Dairy’
In 2018, the Week Without Meat was the campaign that for the first time opened the eyes of many Dutch people to the impact of eating meat on the climate. A lot has changed in the Dutch food culture in five years, which has made the organization decide that it is time for the next step. Eating meat is not the only thing that leaves a huge CO2 and water footprint. The consumption of dairy is also very harmful to the climate. In 2022, ‘& Dairy’ was therefore added to the campaign, with which the campaign will permanently change its name into Dutch National Week Without Meat & Dairy.
Week Without Meat & Dairy | Open your eyes to the plant-based alternatives
The basis of the week remains that every Dutch person is challenged to forget meat for a week, in order to discover how tasty and easy it is to eat vegetarian. As an extra addition, participants are encouraged to also avoid dairy for a week. This promotes a more plant-based diet, in which meat and dairy are alternated with vegetarian and plant-based alternatives.
More vegetable the new normal
The Dutch National Week Without Meat & Dairy is in line with the growing awareness that eating animal products every day is no longer appropriate. Isabel Boerdam, initiator of this National Week: “This year we are adding ‘& Dairy’ to inspire participants to replace dairy more often. In doing so, we want to remain at the forefront of this subject and open the Netherlands’ eyes to the impact of dairy. Most Dutch people are now aware – partly thanks to our campaign – of the impact that meat has on the environment, but the impact of dairy is less known. By drawing attention to this, we are committed to making it more common to eat and drink more plant-based foods.”
People can now register on weekzondervlees.nl to participate. Participants are kept informed by means of tips and inspiration and receive access to the National Week Without Meat & Dairy magazine, which will be published at the beginning of March.
Website: Week Zonder Vlees & Zuivel
