The UNF VEGANS (Vegetarians Educating for the Good of Animals, Nature and Society) Club wants you to veg out Mondays by participating in “Meatless Monday,” a global campaign to reduce meat consumption and raise health awareness.

Meatless Monday began in 2003 as an initiative of the nonprofit group The Monday Campaigns in conjunction with the John Hopkins’ Bloomberg School of Public Health.

“Basically we just want to encourage UNF students to join the growing number of individuals who are taking the pledge to not eat meat every Monday,” said Elizabeth Georges, a nutrition junior and VEGANS president.

According to the Meatless Monday Web site, that list includes Gwyneth Paltrow, Paul McCartney, Al Gore and Simon Cowell, to name a handful.

As the name of the campaign suggests, Meatless Monday seeks to inspire people to give up meat products once a week.

“Many people think it’s really difficult to go vegetarian or to go vegan,” Georges said. “But just taking one day out of the week to change your diet will change so much more.”

The goal of the project is to reduce meat consumption by 15 percent, which will produce benefits for animals, the environment, but perhaps most of all, personal health.

“The idea is by cutting back on meat, which contains saturated fat, Americans greatly reduce their risk of heart disease, stroke and certain forms of cancer,” said Tami O’Neill, assistant editor for Meatless Monday.

Going vegetarian, even for one day, will save some animals, improve your health and reduce your carbon footprint, O’Neill said.

“It’s just such a simple change you can make that not only has an impact on your personal health but has an impact on the environment that we live in now and that we’re leaving for the next generation,” O’Neill said.

The directive of Meatless Monday is less didactic than informational, more informal than in-your-face.

“We’re not about converting everybody to vegetarianism,” O’Neill said. “The idea behind the whole campaign is to make people aware of what they’re putting into their bodies and giving them the information they need and the opportunity to make healthy choices in their life.”

The VEGANS Club concurs.

“It’s not like we’re going to push this on the school at all,” said Madeline Edwards, a communication junior and club secretary. “It’s not about ‘Hey UNF, it’s Meatless Monday, no more meat for you.’”

Vegetarian and vegan alternatives are abundant and inexpensive, said Rhett Anderson, an English freshman.

“It’s the easiest thing in the world,” Anderson said. “I don’t really understand why more college students don’t follow a vegan-friendly diet, it’s so easy on the wallet.”

Anderson encourages students to give the Meatless Monday project a try and broaden their dietary horizons.

“Expand your palate and accept more vegan food into your diet,” Anderson said. “Think about the whole world and not just your backyard when you’re eating.”

The VEGANS Club is a small but dedicated bunch, and they’re always on the lookout for more peeps to get involved, Edwards said.

“We have 15 active members, and we would love that number to grow because we know there are more vegetarians and vegans on campus,” Edwards said.

Don’t get the idea that you have to be a vegan or vegetarian to join up, either. Georges said anyone is invited.

“You can be vegetarian, vegan or ‘veggie-curious,’” Georges said.

The VEGANS Club meets every other Tuesday at 5 p.m. Its next meeting will be held March 23 in the Student Union, room 3601.