Story by Caleb Yeoh
THE Penang International Green Carnival is set to return on Sept 13 and 14.
The event will be jointly organised by Penang Green Council and Penang Save Earth Association and co-organised by ESCAPE, JCI Entrepreneur Metropolitan, JKKK Sungai Emas, JKKK Tanjung Bunga and the Bayan Baru and Perkampungan service centres.
Leading up to this as well as falling in line with numerous measures taken to promote environmental awareness, the state government has decided to take up a bold challenge – to promote and embrace a meatless diet.
“We have decided to embrace a global movement, the low carbon diet and in this case, the ‘Meatless Monday’, which will also be the highlight of the Penang International Green Carnival this year. Various meatless foods will be served at only RM1 for the first 5,000 people, as long as they bring their own food containers and cutlery,” said Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng during a press conference in Komtar.
Lim expanded on “Meatless Monday” by explaining that this move would help reduce Penang’s carbon footprint.
He cited a report by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) which stated that production of 1kg of beef causes about 23kg of carbon emission.
Adding on to this, embracing a lower meat intake would also minimise our water footprint.
As stated by the Water Footprint Network, an estimated 15,500 litres of water is needed to produce 1kg of meat.
“The water needs of livestock are tremendous, far above what is needed for vegetables or grain. This focus is in line with the state’s initiatives to protect and conserve Penang’s water resources,” Lim added.