The signs are everywhere. People are starting to quietly wonder, and to ask, even to demand information about where the food on their plate comes from. The truth too often is as unsettling as it is eye-opening, considering the rampant rise of factory farming. The question remains, though: are there other options available to us? Other less harmful systems we can support? Or, well, are we as a nation headed for Burger Armageddon?

In my quest to speak with experts directly involved with these matters, I thought to go to the source: ranchers. By ordering that steak, or hitting the drive-thru for that bag of burgers, who and what are we actually supporting? Following on from there, what advice could help those of us who live several steps removed from the food system?

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Wow, the numbers are startling. Americans consume an astonishing amount of protein. USDA statistics reveal that U.S. men eat as much as 190% of their recommended daily protein allowance, while women eat as much as 160%, the great majority of which comes from saturated-fat heavy meat and meat products.

Protein is essential to life; it builds and maintains muscles, bones and skin, and regulates metabolism and digestion. But the question remains, whether you look at it from the perspective of personal health, or environmental degradation, or cost savings, or animal rights, or veggie activism, or whatever else floats your boat: do we really need to eat all that meat?

I went to the top, to the nation’s most influential nutritionist, Dr. Marion Nestle, professor in the Department of Nutrition, Food Studies, and Public Health at New York University, to get her take. “All proteins are made up of the same amino acids. ALL. No exceptions,” she reasons. “The difference between animal and vegetable proteins is in the content of certain amino acids. If vegetable proteins are mixed, the differences get made up. Even if they aren’t mixed, all you need to do to get the right amount of low amino acids is to eat more of that food. There is no ‘need’ for animal proteins at all.”

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Christina Pirello was just 26 when she was diagnosed with cancer. She chose to embark on a strict macrobiotic diet that helped clear the terminal illness. Since then, Christina has written five health books, created her own cooking show and pushed for nutrition education in schools.

You were diagnosed with terminal leukemia in 1983. Rather than give up hope, you completely changed your diet. What affect did it have?

I was a junk food vegetarian before I was diagnosed. Then, I changed to a macrobiotic diet: all whole grains, vegetables, beans, tofu or tempeh. No oil, no bread, nothing refined. After just two months, my doctor noticed a significant improvement in my condition. In fourteen months, my cancer was gone!

What is a macrobiotic diet? How does it differ from the standard American diet?

A macrobiotic diet is simple… it consists of whole, unprocessed, seasonal foods cooked in a simplistic, healthy way. It’s all about the energy that food creates in us. One major difference, of course, is cutting meat. It’s a key step.

Your Emmy Award-winning cooking show, Christina Cooks, has been on public television stations since 1997. To what do you attribute its continued success?

Well, to this day it remains the only show of it kind! Our focus is how food works in the body, and how it makes us feel. I think people really want to do the best for themselves – but they’re often confused how or even where to start.

You’ve used your personal experience and nutrition expertise to create The Christina Pirello Health Education Initiative. When speaking at schools, what misconceptions about diet do you typically encounter?

Oh, lots of them…mostly people think certain foods are healthy when they’re absolutely not. Parents find themselves trapped, because the ad campaigns targeting kids are so effective. When I go into schools, I gently guide parents and kids towards a better relationship with healthy food choices – so they can do it in their own lives!

What simple dietary changes can readers make today to start feeling better and living a healthier life?

Eat more veggies…the rest will follow. As you start to feel better from eating veggies, you’ll naturally begin to make better choices on your own. Simple, right?

No stranger to boar sausage, or to a finely braised veal shank, Mario Batali isn’t the first person that comes to mind when you think about vegetables. And that’s what’s so interesting about Batali’s decision to embrace Meatless Monday in all of his 14 restaurants across the country.

“The fact is, most people in the U.S. eat way more meat than is good for them or the planet,” maintains Batali. “Asking everyone to go vegetarian or vegan isn’t a realistic or attainable goal. But we can focus on a more plant-based diet. That’s why I’m such a big believer in the Meatless Monday movement!”

So how’s he going to do it? Every Monday every one of his 14 restaurants will serve at least two vegetarian options, whether entrees or pastas or pizzas. In addition, many of the restaurants will designate these dishes as Meatless Monday options, using Mario’s new MM logo. With this simple gesture, Mario will send a powerful message to other chefs and restauranteurs that we can all start the week right by eating our veggies.

Take a look at a leek and you may notice something familiar. Its tall, strong stalks resemble its petite cousin, the scallion. Leeks are related to a long line of vegetables, including garlic, onions, shallots and scallions. The similarities between the plants, however, end upon first taste. The leek has a far more subtle, sweet flavor than its pungent family members.

The slightly sweet leek is a tasty way to improve your health. This yummy plant holds a wide array of nutrients, including manganese, vitamin C, B6, iron, and folate. Regular consumption leads to lower LDL cholesterol levels and higher HDL cholesterol levels, thus lowering your risk of heart disease. Leeks are also high in fiber -which aids in the regulation of the digestive tract and protects against colon cancer- and contain antiseptic and anti-inflammatory properties, protecting the body from many harmful invaders.

When preparing leeks, be sure to slice the light green and white stalk lengthwise down the center. Remember to rinse in between the layers, as soil tends to be caught in between.

Lucky for us, leeks are an easy, appetizing addition to many meals. They’re a classic ingredient in soups, like in our Tomato Leek Provencal or try them tossed with fettuccine in this week’s Miso Morel Pasta with Peas. This versatile plant can also be added to risottos, pasta sauces, and quiches for a delicious, mild flavor!

This past week, The Huffington Post launched its newest section. HuffPost Food investigates everything edible, from fine cuisine to KFC’s newest concoction. Given the breath of topics covered, we were delighted when The Huffington Post decided to include Meatless Monday! HuffPost Food will feature regular Meatless Monday articles and recipes, making it easier than ever to have delicious, healthful eats each week.

Meatless Monday was on the roster for the very first edition of HuffPost Food. The article discusses the health benefits of going meatless and showcases some of our most exceptional recipes. Future Meatless Monday articles will include additional slideshows filled with delicious foods, along with nutrition tips and news surrounding the growing movement.

We’d like to congratulate The Huffington Post on its tasty new addition and thank them for spreading the word about Meatless Monday! Be sure to check out HuffPost Food, and stay tuned for more tips and recipes to help you start your week on a healthy note!

From our friends at Healthy Monday…

San Francisco is known for touting innovative cuisine and healthy lifestyles. This past week, the city by the bay raised the bar in both arenas by becoming the first Meatless Monday city! The resolution passed by San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors ensures that residents will gain greater access to healthy, meatless options while learning about the connection between what they eat and their health.

The resolution to make Mondays meatless was introduced by supervisor Sophie Maxwell, who hopes that residents will use this opportunity to make nutritious, sustainable choices. San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors agreed that Meatless Monday is a smart way to start the week, passing the resolution unanimously! According to ABC news, Maxwell’s Meatless Monday declaration will “encourage restaurants, schools and grocery stores to offer plant-based options”.

We’d like to welcome San Francisco to the Meatless Monday movement! Hopefully other cities will follow their lead in encouraging residents to embrace a diverse, healthy diet. Meatless Monday is a simple way to bring awareness and preventative health to any community!

In his award winning series Food Revolution, Jamie Oliver enters Huntington, West Virginia a man on a mission- to curb this city’s obesity rate and disease risk by improving the health habits of its residents. With nearly half of the adults obese, Huntington was named the least healthy city in America by the Center for Disease Control. In the first episode, Oliver speaks with a local pastor, overwhelmed that every year the city has such a high number of funerals due to preventable diseases like diabetes, heart disease, cancer and stroke.

Oliver starts out his health crusade in an elementary school cafeterias because as he says “once we change the schools, we can change the whole of Huntington.” In his school health crusade he is met by defensive lunch ladies and children with pallets so addicted to salt and sugar additives that they crave chicken nuggets for all meals- even after they see Oliver puree a chicken’s grislier bits to make those instantly recognizable deep fried patties. However the children of Huntington are unable indentify tomatoes, potatoes or even eggplant as one child finished Oliver’s prompt “egg…” as “eggsalad”. The cafeteria cooks have the skills to prepare food from scratch, but rely on processed instant food like “potato pearls”, so it’s no wonder the children can’t recognize a whole potato. Certainly a weekly Meatless Monday in the cafeteria would help these kids get to know their fruits and veggies and schools can actually purchase healthy produce cheaper than its instant substitutes using the USDA school food list.

It’s only when Oliver sees the cafeteria cooks baking hot buns from scratch that he sees a glimmer of hope for health. Following a discouraging school visit, Jamie Oliver visits the obese Edwards family to improve health within the home. After he finds their kitchen littered with fast food wrappers, Oliver performs a burial ceremony of the family’s deep fryer. Oliver teaches Justin- a young teenager highly at risk for developing type 2 diabetes- to cook a simple stir-fry. “Kids can cook. You gotta be with them, but kids can cook… in 40 minutes we went miles” Oliver reports. Research shows that families who cook together often are more likely to eat healthier and have a lower incidence of obesity. So this week start your week off right with The Kids Cook Monday and make eating right a family night.

Today’s post comes from our friends at Meatless Monday…

Perhaps the most revolutionary thing about Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move initiative is that it works with the today’s busy, complex world, instead of fighting it. “How do we answer the questions or give solutions or approaches to parents in all different kinds of communities?” the first lady asks. With 1 in 3 kids overweight or obese, Obama emphasizes that this generation’s children live in a very different- and much less active- environment. “There are going to be kids who can’t just go out and play. They’re home alone or their neighborhoods aren’t safe. Or what about families that are living out in rural areas where they don’t have a car and can’t go to the local soccer field?”

The Let’s Move initiative seeks to help people make healthier choices by rewarding physical activity as a consistent part of a child’s life. Obama redefined the criteria for the President’s Fitness Awards to include kids who incorporate physical activity in their day to day habits. This expands the award so that kids without access to organized sports can be recognized for integrating fitness into their weekly routines. What a motivation to Move It each Monday!

Obama also takes our diets as the initiative promotes nutrition in encouraging healthy home cooking by making healthy ingredients accessible to the every kitchen. The Healthy Food Financing Initiative is to invest four hundred million dollars to establish grocery stores in underserved communities without access to fresh fruits and veggies. A Farmers’ Market Promotion Program is following suit in devoting five million dollars to improve access so farmer’s markets, so every child can learn about new and different nutritious produce. So take advantage of one of the farmer’s market springing up near you. You and your kids can take a stroll as well as learn how those bell peppers, sweet potatoes and green beans got from their farm to your plate this Meatless Monday.