Bhutan Sees More Growth In Veganism And Launches Meatless Monday - Jangsem Monday

MEATLESS MONDAYS

Meatless Monday is a global movement that encourages people to reduce meat consumption for their health and the health of the planet. The campaign was launched in 2003 by Sid Lerner, in collaboration with the Johns Hopkins Center. Eating less meat and healthier plant-based foods can reduce the incidence of chronic preventable diseases, save valuable land, and water resources, and help combat climate change. 

In May 2009, Ghent, Belgium became the first non-US state to go meatless. Shortly thereafter, Paul McCartney announced Meat-Free Mondays in the UK. Meatless Monday is currently active in 44 countries and continues to grow as each country offers its own culture, customs, and cuisine. With the growing awareness about the dire need to go meatless more and more countries are now welcoming this idea.

As a result, new restaurants and food products now exist which are completely meat-free, resulting in a massive increase in the number of vegans across the globe.

JANGSEM MONDAY

Meatless Mondays are known as "Jangsem Monday" in Bhutan. Jangsem means "bodhicitta" in Sanskrit and is taught as the essence of enlightenment in Buddhism. Jangsem serves to remind you to think beyond yourself and think about others.

The whole concept of Jangsem Monday is developed to promote Jangsem on Mondays through vegetarian recipes, gardening, and involving local politicians, actors, singers, bands, and artists in the movement. The Jangsem Monday organization visits schools in Bhutan to encourage and motivate students to understand the relationship between health (self and the planet) and abstinence from meat.

Further, the organization is also working to expand into hotels and restaurants to promote Meatless Monday by introducing it online, on the radio, and on TV. They believe that a healthy, environment-friendly, and simple Jangsem Monday is possible and highly achievable.

HIMALAYAN VEGAN FEST

The biggest and most exciting vegan event will take place in September 2022 in the tranquility of the Himalayas of Nepal and Bhutan. The Himalayan Vegan Fest is a 6-day event that everyone can attend. Includes vegan food courts, panel discussions, exhibitions, local and international vegan chefs, free workshops, movie screenings, children's activity corners, music and dance, and other exciting activities.

HIMALAYAN VEGAN FEST: THE EVENT

The event is aimed toward spreading awareness about the various benefits of a plant-based lifestyle and can feature vegan and environmental activists, filmmakers, local conservationists and health professionals, CEOs, and celebrities. Over 100 speakers, local and international, are going to be delegating the event, covering different aspects of the plant-based movement.

The Fest is aimed to bring vegans and curious nonvegans together during a celebration of the plant-based movement across the planet. The Himalayan Vegan Fest is the biggest vegan event in the history of Nepal and Bhutan. It will not only highlight the international vegan movement, but also the local developments.

Going ‘meatless’ for a day in a week has massive health benefits. What started as a small initiative, has now resulted in a revolutionary change around the world. In places like Bhutan, vegetarianism dominates regardless but the nation still lacks awareness about the benefits of avoiding meat.

Hence the concept of Jangsem Mondays was introduced. With the organization’s firm beliefs, this mission has a very bright future ahead and will surely cause a huge impact on the entire world.

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WATCH MORE: PM NARENDRA MODI, AAMIR KHAN AND SADHU VASWANI ARE ALL GOING MEATLESS ON NOVEMBER 25TH