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“I love beef,” says Vlad Luca, 25. But unlike most other self-proclaimed steak lovers, Vlad eats it only four times a year, on designated “beef days”.
The “beef days” phenomenon has been popularised by the brothers John and Hank Green, known collectively as vlogbrothers on YouTube. John, 48, is better known for his YA fiction, including The Fault in Our Stars, while Hank, 45, is a self-described science communicator and entrepreneur.
They have been making videos on their shared channel since 2007, and have more than 4 million subscribers. In June 2024, John posted a video announcing that “an idea inspired by early modern humans” – feast days – had pushed him to commit to eating less beef.
John did not want to give up beef entirely, but he feared the impact of the beef industry on the Paris agreement’s limit of 1.5C of post-industrial global heating and the devastating effects of beef farming on deforestation.
He compared the overconsumption of beef to the “coolness” of tobacco back in the day: “Norms feel permanent, but norms can change and when they do it can be powerful,” he said. He announced that his family would consume beef only on four “beef days” a year, mimicking feast days found across many cultures.
When Luca found that video, the idea of “beef days” resonated with him – he loved beef, but not the industry’s impact on the planet. He also found the concept of going entirely vegetarian intimidating.
“It’s little changes that could make a difference,” he said. “I’m not preachy about it. I hate blaming consumers for what the industry does.”
More than a year on, Vlad continues to observe “beef days”. He cares about climate breakdown, and says a lot of young people do, but he feels that an all-or-nothing approach to social norms – such as completely overhauling how often you drive or eat meat – is unhelpful, and in some cases unrealistic.
“Sometimes I look at a burger and salivate over it, but that makes the times that I do eat it more special,” he said.
Luca, who is from Romania, often times his “beef days” to coincide with visits to his home country, where his family loves to cook meat. He sees these occasions as celebrations rather than relapses.
Beef is the second-biggest contributor to the UK’s agricultural output, valued at £4.1bn in 2024. However, households waste about 250,000 tonnes of beef, pork and poultry products (not including bones and fat) annually.
Compared with other meats, beef has a much larger environmental footprint. Scientists say that shifting even part of our diets towards lower-impact meats or plant-based proteins can free up land and significantly cut planet-heating pollution.
