“Less Meat = Less Heat”
Paul McCartney and others promote Meat Free Mondays
In recent years, people have become more concerned about health. This includes their own health and the health of the planet. One thing you can do to help both is to eat less meat. That’s what Sir Paul McCartney, one of the Beatles, says. He is a supporter of the Meat Free Mondays campaign.
Meat Free Mondays was started by Dr. Rajendra Pachauri, a UN scientist who received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007 as the chairperson of the IPCC. The concept of Meat Free Mondays is simple: For one day a week, you shouldn’t eat meat. One of the goals is to cut greenhouse gas emissions. Cows and other animals produce methane gas and nitrogen oxide, which are more harmful to the environment than CO2. The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) reports that meat production is responsible for 18% of greenhouse gas emissions.
In addition to reducing greenhouse gases, eating less meat will help solve the problem of world hunger. The UK group Compassion in World Farming says that 20kg of grains are consumed to produce 1kg of beef. The grains that are fed to farm animals could be used to feed two billion people around the world. Yet one person every five seconds dies from hunger. The UK group says, “Crops that could be used to feed the hungry instead being used to fatten animal raised for food.” Selling meat also requires land for raising animals, fuel for shipping, and plastics for packaging
To support Meat Free Monday, Sir Paul McCartney used his most effective tool: His music. He recorded a YouTube video in which he sings a song about the campaign. “Meat Free Monday. It’s a fun day. And it’s happening all around the world. Come on, join us!” the campaign’s website has recipes and other ideas for reducing meat consumption. And remember, you can go more than just one day without meat. The less meat you eat, the healthier you ― and the planet ― will be.
