By now, you’ve probably heard that the meat industry is bad for our planet. There’s a lot about the environment that feels out of our hands—we are constantly surrounded by bad news, and it’s difficult to figure out what we can do to help. In all this uproar, you’ve probably heard someone mention Meatless Mondays.

First, some background on how Meatless Mondays started. While eating less meat is certainly good for the environment (and for you!), a nationwide effort to consume less animal byproduct first began during World War 1, when the United States government realized it needed to conserve food in order to feed the troops overseas. President Hoover asked Americans to do Meatless Tuesdays and Wheatless Wednesdays as a part of the war-time effort. The campaign was hugely successful—over 13 million families signed the pledge.

Now, the need to go eat less meat doesn’t come from a crisis of war, but a crisis of the environment. While a President hasn’t recently asked Americans to eat less meat, there are several benefits of doing so.

According to Mayo Clinic, “Even reducing meat intake has a protective effect. Research shows that people who eat red meat are at an increased risk of death from heart disease, stroke or diabetes.”

Eating less meat is good for you and the environment. Going one meal a week without meat is a great place for you to start—and it doesn’t have to be on Monday.