Sir Paul McCartney recently launched the concept of Meat Free Mondays in the UK and he issued this personal note to subscribers of Gwyneth Paltrow's GOOP newsletter. And all those stars (Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Kelly Osbourne, Kate Bosworth....) to the left, showed their support.
Meat Free Mondays were created in response to concern that the presence of Methane from Livestock are causing climatic degredation. Of course it is implied that the growing demand for Livestock for human consumption is the cause of this. In addition to the environmental dangers of Methane, Livestock are also responsible depleting our global supply of fresh water. McCartney points out that it takes "634 gallons of fresh water required to produce one 5.2 ounce (150g) Beef Burger". Above this, Livestock waste also accounts for water pollution as a result of the antibiotics and hormones these animals are given.
Please don't get me wrong, I'm by no means an Environmentalist nor am I a Tree Hugger, but I do recognize that we don't give much thought to how we hurt the world we live in. I'm not telling you to quit meat altogether because God only knows how much I love a nice rare Steak, but it is important that we have some degree of awareness to how simple things like eating a Burger are impacting the environment. If every one of us reduced our meat consumption by just one day a week, this in itself will undoubtedly have a long-term impact and perhaps force the Livestock industry to re-examine their business practices for the better.
