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MPs to go Meat Free?
August 27, 2010 11:49 AM
Manchester MP John Leech has responded to Manchester Friends of the Earth campaigners by submitting a parliamentary Early Day Motion (EDM) calling for catering authorities at the Houses of Parliament to go "meat-free" on Mondays. [1]
The "Meat Free Monday" campaign is being promoted in Manchester by Manchester Friends of the Earth, [2] and by environmental campaigners and other groups and bodies right across the UK. It encourages local authorities, schools and other public and private bodies to provide an animal-free menu at least one day per week to help tackle environmental and diet-related health problems.
MP for Withington John Leech said:
"Farming and slaughtering animals is now recognised as a significant contributor to today's greatest environmental problems. According to the United Nations, livestock farming could be responsible for up to 18 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions." [3 ] "As well as saving carbon, reducing the amount of meat in our diets will also help improve health." "Parliament could send a powerful message and set a great example by designating one day a week as Meat-Free."
Livestock uses far more land and resources than other food sources and the livestock supply chain also generates significant impacts. Amazon rainforest is being cleared to grow soy which is then transported across the Atlantic merely to feed to animals in the UK. In addition the methods used to process an animal into meat are both highly energy and water intensive and polluting.
Manchester Friends of the Earth campaigner Benjamin McCarron said:
"We're delighted that John Leech is working on this and taking it to Parliament. In the recent past, MPs have come in for a lot of criticism, so it's great to see a local MP setting a positive example."
"At a time when, for one reason or another, many people are thinking again about things they took for granted, more and more people are having another look at how much meat they eat [4 ] at how much it costs, and finding out that it's actually fun to try out new cuisines and switch to a non-meat and fish diet at least one day a week."
ENDS
NOTES TO EDITORS
[1] EDM:
That this House acknowledges UN figures which suggest that meat production is responsible for approximately 18 percent of global carbon emissions; further acknowledges that methane, emitted by cows and pigs, is 23 times more powerful than carbon dioxide as a greenhouse gas; recognises that across the UK 1mn tones of beef, 1.3mn tones of pork and 1.8mn tones of poultry are consumed every year; recognises that this level of meat consumption is detrimental to the national health and increasingly to the public purse; further recognises that global meat production is forecast to almost double to 456mn tones in 2050 compared to 2001 levels; believes that current meat consumption levels are unsustainable if the Climate Change Act 2008 is to be successfully implemented and help the UK fight against climate change; calls for a shift towards less meat-oriented diets nationally; recognises that Meat-Free Mondays would help to promote this; and believes that Parliament should set an example by supporting Meat-Free Mondays in all cafeterias in the Houses of Parliament.
[2] Manchester Friends of the Earth is an award-winning environmental campaign
group, raising awareness and lobbying for policy changes at a local, regional, national and international level. The group consists entirely of volunteers, and its campaigns are funded by membership fees and individual donations. Up-to-date information is available on the group's website: www.manchesterfoe.org.uk . Manchester Friends of the Earth is a Licensed Local Group of Friends of the Earth, England, Wales and Northern Ireland. www.foe.co.uk
[3] Link to UN Food and Agriculture Organisation press release on climate change impacts of food. http://www.fao.org/newsroom/en/news/2006/1000448/index.html
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