Two major post-secondary institutions and one high school are now offering vegetarian meals as part of a commitment to Meatless Monday.

The British Columbia Institute of Technology has recently begun a soft rollout of the program, introducing a whole variety of new meatless options on Mondays at many of the dining locations on campus over the past few weeks.

Environmental and animal rights groups all over the world promote Meatless Monday as a way for people to reduce their reliance on meat, with its ethical baggage and substantial carbon footprint.

At BCIT, vegetarian soft tacos and kidney bean salad are on offer at 2Mato Pizzeria, while Global Village serves meatless meatballs, veggie curry and sweet and sour tofu for meat avoiders. The 2Mato Pizzeria offers no meat dishes at all on Mondays

Langara College has been offering meatless options for about a year and sales are increasing steadily, according to Saira Husain, a spokeswoman for Chartwells, the food service provider for both schools.

“Our most popular (meatless option) is the vegetarian Indian food, followed by the butternut squash mac and cheese,” she said.

Meatless Monday squares nicely with a trend away from eating animal protein, especially among teens and twentysomethings.

“Since launching Meatless Mondays at Langara College, we’ve received many positive comments from students who are pleased that this initiative is not only good for their bodies but ultimately, the planet,” said Husain.

Nearly twice as many people in B.C. (13 per cent) identify as vegetarian or mostly vegetarian compared with the rest of Canada, and most of those people are in the 18 to 34 demographic, according to an Environics poll released last year. Another 26 per cent of British Columbians say they are trying to eat less meat, according to the poll commissioned by the Vancouver Humane Society.

“We pitch Meatless Monday as a really powerful way to make a meaningful difference for not only animals but also the planet and your health,” said Emily Pickett, project coordinator for the society.

VHS is spearheading the Meatless Monday drive, making presentations to environmental and animal welfare groups at colleges, universities and high schools.

“The student response has been great,” said Pickett. “Environmental clubs have been eager to start their own initiatives with the cafeterias.”

Once a student group is engaged, they approach the school cafeteria’s food service provider to work out what foods to offer, with support from the society.

“We work with the club and the food service provider to work out the logistics,” said Pickett. “(Langara and BCIT provider) Chartwells was really quite keen to do it.”

The promotion materials used on campus includes information about conditions experienced by farm-raised animals and environmental arguments for reducing meat consumption. Most schools add and highlight vegetarian options on Mondays, rather than completely withdrawing meat from the menu.

“We want to keep everybody happy, and that seems to have gone over really well,” Pickett said.

Eric Hamber Secondary School started offering meatless options on Mondays in February, and three more high schools are planning to do the same.

Hamber’s cafeteria added new menu items including, chickpea curry rice bowls, hummus wraps, pasta primavera, mushroom burgers, falafel wraps and even a salad bar. The move appears to drawing new business to the cafeteria, even as sales of meat dishes wane.