Paul McCartney wants you to stop eating meat on Mondays. Easy or too much to ask?
Starting today, Sir Paul McCartney, along with his daughters Stella and Mary, are urging people to limit their meat intake in an effort to combat climate change.
Sir Paul, a life-long vegetarian, said: “Many of us feel helpless in the face of environmental challenges, and it can be hard to know how to sort through the advice about what we can do to make a meaningful contribution to a cleaner, more sustainable, healthier world. Having one designated meat-free day a week is a meaningful change that everyone can make, that goes to the heart of several important political, environmental and ethical issues all at once.”
According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation, meat is responsible for 18 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions, more than transport’s 13 percent.
So, why not take a day off to help the world fight global warming? People have been doing it for religious reasons for centuries. Canon Law 1250 establishes as universal law that every Friday of the year is considered a common day of penance, so Catholics are urged to abstain from eating meat on Fridays, as well as Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. Hindus and Buddhist don’t believe in eating beef at all, and highly religious Muslims and Jews do not eat pork.
But, it requires a conscious effort and for many people pre-production in planning their menus. How about if restaurants around the world only served vegetarian meals on Mondays? Is this a difficult switch or would it require major maneuvering?
I think it’s time to give peas a chance.
Would you be willing to change your eating habits, if it helps fight the threat of global warming? Please share your thoughts.
McCartney urges ‘meat-free days’ to tackle climate change – News, Food & Drink – The Independent.

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Robin, the answer is Sure–since I already have a lot of meat-free days. But just a small point: Sir Paul is not a life-long vegetarian, as your source states: He and his late wife Linda decided to become vegetarians after they bought their farm in I think Scotland. They were sitting, gazing at the lambs they were raising, and decided they couldn’t eat meat anymore. Linda wrote very amusingly about their first meat-less holiday meal, where there was a giant, gaping hole in the middle of the table. The next year, she filled it with a giant cauliflower, substituting for beef.
Thanks, Susan, for adding that story about Paul and Linda. I gave up red meat when I was in high school and never looked back, much to the chagrin of many of my chef friends. Now my dilemma is figuring out which fish is sustainable and if I should be cutting back on my fish intake. Soon, we’ll all just be eating frog.
In response to another comment. See in context »