A host of musicians, actors and sports stars have joined up with businesses and environmental groups in what they hope would be a successful push to get more people to ditch meat, fish and dairy in the new year.
Friends of the Earth, Greenpeace, Paul McCartney, Ricky Gervais, Lily Cole and Alan Cumming have all signed a letter calling for people to change their diet for “Veganuary” next month.
“We cannot tackle climate change while we farm and eat animals on an industrial scale,” the open letter written by the Veganuary association says.
Photo: AFP
Other signatories include Chris Packham, the environmental campaigner and TV presenter; Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr; cricketer Jason Gillespie; businesswoman Deborah Meaden; and comedians John Bishop, Sara Pascoe and Jon Richardson.
Packham said there was a clear link between the climate crisis, large-scale meat-eating and COVID-19.
“This virus leapt from animals into us as SARS, Ebola and HIV did — all because we were abusing the natural environment and the animals that live there,” he said. “So nature has taught us a very harsh and cold lesson. If we don’t start understanding that we are all connected implicitly to nature, and that what we eat impacts on nature, we’re in deep trouble. That’s why the environmental aspect of veganism or vegetarianism — or anyone changing their diet — has come to the forefront.”
Veganuary’s organizers hope to persuade 500,000 people to try veganism next month. About 350,000 took part last year.
Global meat sales had begun to decline last year, after rising from about 71 million tonnes a year in 1961 to 340 million tonnes in 2018, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization.
In the UK, sales of beef, lamb and pork dropped by up to 4 percent last Christmas, and supermarkets cater for rising numbers of “flexitarians” — those who cut back on meat.
However, COVID-19 lockdowns have fuelled a boom in meat consumption.
According to market researcher Kantar, sales of turkeys were up 36 percent on last year, and sales of red meat and poultry grew by more than 10 percent each month until September.
The Veganuary letter sets out the environmental arguments against meat.
“Animal agriculture is responsible for an estimated 14.5 percent of all human-generated greenhouse gas emissions,” it says. “In recent years, more than 80 percent of deforestation in Brazil was to graze farmed animals, and still more forests are destroyed to grow crops to feed animals on farms around the world. Deforestation is serious for lots of reasons. It pushes wild species to extinction. It displaces indigenous peoples. It drives climate change. And it brings us in ever closer contact with wild animals and any viruses they may harbor, raising the risk of another pandemic.”
Packham said there was evidence that soya produced in felled Brazilian rainforest had been used to feed chickens sold in UK supermarkets and fast-food outlets: “If you put that chicken in your mouth, you’re connecting yourself very directly with deforestation in South America.”
However, ethical eating was difficult even for vegans, he added.
“Palm oil has led to the deforestation of Indonesia and Malaysia, and it’s in biscuits, shampoo … it’s frankly everywhere. We each of us consume 8kg to 9kg every year,” he said.
The solution is not for the whole population to turn vegan, he said.
“The people I call ultra-vegans just want to stop all meat consumption overnight. But that would be no good for meat farmers. It would be no good for our landscapes, where low-intensity, good-quality animal husbandry and livestock farming are actually good for biodiversity. What we need is a transition where we eat less meat and pay more for it so we can put the profit in the farmer’s pocket,” he said.
Toni Vernelli of Veganuary said that while this year had brought hardship and heartbreak, it had also brought “an opportunity to change and build a better future.”
“Our united message is one of hope, but we must all act now,” he said.
‘IN A DIFFERENT PLACE’: The envoy first visited Shanghai, where he attended a Chinese basketball playoff match, and is to meet top officials in Beijing tomorrow US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday arrived in China on his second visit in a year as the US ramps up pressure on its rival over its support for Russia while also seeking to manage tensions with Beijing. The US diplomat tomorrow is to meet China’s top brass in Beijing, where he is also expected to plead for restraint as Taiwan inaugurates president-elect William Lai (賴清德), and to raise US concerns on Chinese trade practices. However, Blinken is also seeking to stabilize ties, with tensions between the world’s two largest economies easing since his previous visit in June last year. At the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese