TA hospital announces Meatless Monday
Sourasky Medical Center joins campaign led in Israel by ex-news anchor Miki Haimovich, begins serving vegetarian dishes to its staff, patients on Mondays
From now on, they will no longer receive meat on Mondays – unless they ask for it specifically.
A pilot test was conducted last week at the hospital's cafeteria, where half of the served dishes contained meat and half were vegetarian. Kitchen workers were happy to report that the vegetarian dishes were quickly eaten up.
The hospital decided to adopt the initiative, hoping to improve the health of both the employees and patients and contribute to environmental protection as well.
Vegetarian dishes eaten up. Ichilov cafeteria (Photo: Motti Kimchi)
"Research shows that we don’t eat enough vegetables and use too much of the earth's resources," explains Prof. Nachum Vaisman, head of the Sourasky Medical Center's Clinical Nutrition Unit.
"If all Israelis give up on meat for just one day a week, in terms of the environment this equals taking half a million cars off the road," adds Haimovich.
Consuming 5 times more meat than before
According to Haimovich, our meat consumption has jumped fivefold in the past 50 years. The production of 1 kilogram (2.2 pounds) of meat for consumption wastes 10 times more water than the production of 1 kilogram of wheat and 25 times more fuel than the production of vegetarian food.
In addition, livestock are responsible for 18% of the emission of greenhouse gases.
"Vegetables are a very important part of our nutrition, and it's important to eat vegetables of all colors," stresses Dr. Olga Raz, director of the Nutrition and Dietary Unit at the Sourasky Medical Center.
"They help us improve our immune system and the functioning of our nervous system, and even help the teeth. Cabbage and tomato, for example, help prevent cancer," she adds.
Improving workers' health. Chef Moti Fadida, Prof. Vaisman and Haimovich (Photo: Motti Kimchi)
Dr. Raz does not recommend giving up on meat completely, as the human body still needs vitamin B12, which is found in most animal derived foods and is crucial for the normal functioning of the nervous system and formation of blood.
She adds, however, that one can easily avoid eating meat one day a week and "nothing will happen." Moreover, by avoiding eating meat to some extent we are less exposed to fat, which may lead to colorectal cancer and heart and blood-related diseases.
"Meat substitutes like soy or grains and legumes give us the same amount of protein as meat," says Dr. Raz.
And what if an employee or a patient demands a meat dish on a Monday? Patients will be given the option to choose meat dishes in advance.
So what's on the menu?
Adam Enav, the chef of Osem Nestlé Professional, designed the hospital's meatless dishes.
For example, the patients' menu will include pea soup, whole-wheat couscous, couscous with vegetables, a vegetarian substitute for chicken breast stir-fried with vegetables, vegetarian kebab, vegetarian meatballs in tomato sauce, olives and lemon.
Less exposed to unhealthy fat. Meatless Monday at Ichilov (Photo: Motti Kimchi)
The staff's menu will include sweet potato soup, whole-wheat couscous, couscous with vegetables, baked vegetables, a vegetarian substitute for chicken breast stir-fried with vegetables, vegetarian kebab, vegetarian meatballs in tomato sauce, olives and lemon, vegetarian sausages, vegetarian spaghetti Bolognese and vegetable-stuffed pepper.
"We are already present in the kitchens of Intel, HP, Motorola, the Electric Corp in Haifa, some of Teva's offices and in a variety of kibbutzim and municipalities," Haimovich says contently.
"This is a significant landmark in our campaign, and I am sure the patients will realize that vegetarian food is tasty and healthy, and will even ask for more."
