Photo by gamene

What we eat represents roughly one third of our carbon footprint … meat consumption alone accounts for half of those emissions. Arguably, our current eating habits are a real strain on the environment.

No wonder then that eating less meat and dairy is very high on the agenda of those concerned with their impact … and their health!

When it comes to eating less meat, steps towards a smaller footprint come in all shapes and sizes: going vegan is the hardcore perspective, vegetarians are mainstream, some will simply stay clear of red meat (the most carbon intensive meat) and others will be vegetarians for a few days a week only. If you’re just starting, taking it step-by-step will help you get used to your new shopping habits and leave you enough time to test a bunch of great new recipes.

Here is what is going on in Brussels:

EVA and Vegetarian Thursdays

EVA is a Belgian non-profit, since its birth in Gent in 2000 it has grown into one of the most dynamic vegetarian activists organisation in Europe. Their website is mainly in Flemish … but is by far the best resource for everything vegetarian in Belgium.

Their main campaign is now Donderdag Veggiedag / Jeudi Veggie … Vegetarian Thursdays. Individuals are encouraged to go  meat-less and dairy-less every Thursday! Restaurants, schools are catering companies are encouraged to propose at least one vegetarian dish on that day.

As a sign that this is going mainstream, the campaign has the official support of the local government and, since May 26th 2011, Brussels is officially a Veggie City!

Veggie Shops

Your local supermarket or shop has everything you probably need to go vegetarian. You can use tebiki’s guide on seasonal and local produce for help in navigating the vegetable and fruit isles. Also check-out vegetable boxes for fresh and local produce.

If you want to take it a step further, you’ll find more vegetarian products at your local Bio-shop.

Veggiedeluxe is a Belgian, 100% vegetarian web-shop.

Restaurants

EVA’s excellent Veggieplan for Brussels will help you pin-point vegetarian and vegetarian-friendly locations around town: surprise your taste-buds !

Their website also has a complete database. The grey plant symbol next to restaurant names indicates vegan-friendly locations, the green plant symbol shows vegetarian friendly locations. Restaurants with the small % symbol will take 10% off your bill if you have the EVA card (Which you can get by transferring 6€ on EVA’s bank account) .