Studies have indicated that the production of livestock is responsible for around a fifth of greenhouse emissions worldwide, prompting calls for people to reduce their meat intake and switch to non-meat options on some days.
In Ghent, town officials will eat non-meat meals once a week; from September schoolchildren, too, will go meat-free for a day.
There are also efforts to promote vegetarian restaurants in the town, with printing of street maps pinpointing their locations.