There is a well known saying, 'no pain, no gain' and that will be ringing true in the minds of Milk Link’s 1,600 producers, who are on the brink of reaping just reward for 12 years of loyalty and investment.Paul McCartney 'undermines' climate change talks
SIR Paul McCartney has been accused of undermining climate change talks with his ‘meat-free Monday’ campaign.
The Beatles legend will take his controversial campaign to Brussels in a fortnight.
Livestock, he says, are one of the world’s biggest emitters of methane – around 18 per cent of global emissions – and consumers should therefore boycott their products once a week.
But Nick Herbert, the shadow environment secretary, said Sir Paul’s actions could undermine the climate change movement for his own ‘political agenda’.
“A global deal to combat dangerous climate change at UN talks in Copenhagen next month is critical,” said Mr Herbert. “That means guarding against demands for behavioral changes so unrealistic that they risk undermining public support.
“We need to think a little harder about what will really work to arrest global warming,” he said, adding some activists were “less interested in serious debate than in pulling their hair shirts on to the rest of us”.
Mr Herbert, who was in New Zealand to dicuss climate change solutions with Ministers this week, did admit, however, that lifestyles and business practices would have to change to meet global emissions targets.
To that end, he announced that a future Conservative Government would sign the UK up to join New Zealand’s ‘Global Alliance’ to cut emissions from agriculture.
“We have to invest in the research and development now, in order that we can cut emissions without cutting production.
“This will require us to share best practice and pool expertise, so that we can find solutions quickly and pursue promising technologies at the earliest opportunity. Collaboration on policy and research for mitigating agricultural emissions is essential,” he said.
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Readers' comments (8)
Anonymous | 17 November 2009 3:11 pm
He was a BeAtle, Not a Beetle. I do not see how anyone can undermine anything by asking people to think about not eating meat one day a week. We eat too much meat for our health.
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number9 | 17 November 2009 3:14 pm
I don't think Paul has a political agenda, he just really thinks people shouldn't eat animals. In his mind he's protecting animals. to each their own. I do eat meat, but I want it to be safe and organic. That's not pollitical, it's just common sense.
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Anonymous | 17 November 2009 4:16 pm
One day a week! No big deal. Catholics did it for decades only it was on Friday. I'm sure Paul would LIKE everyone to go veggie, but IMO he's never been all that pushy about it and understands that a lot of people making a small change is just as good as, or better than, only a few people making a big change.
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Pat Thomas | 17 November 2009 5:41 pm
Had Nick Herbert checked his sources before he chose to write the original piece in the Guardian, from which so much misinformation has been drawn, he would have seen that Sir Paul McCartney has not yet made an appearance in Brussels on behalf of the Meat Free Monday campaign. The press release that he half-read was announcing a hearing at the EU Parliament on December 3rd which addresses the issues of food security, meat reduction and climate change at which Sir Paul, Rajendra Pachauri and others will be speaking. I wonder if it doesn't say something about the response to a suggestion of even a small cut in meat consumption that your journal reprinted the story without checking the facts.
Pat Thomas, Campaign Director, Meat Free Monday
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Dani | 17 November 2009 7:22 pm
Firstly in regards to the response made by Pat Thomas, you responded pretty much what I wanted to say about that article. As soon as I saw he had already been to the EU Parliament I took it with a pinch of salt.
In regards to this being to drastic an initutive for the public, it is a lot better than asking them to cut out meat all together, Its one day of eating alternative meals which is cheaper, beneficial for us health wise and better for the environment as well when so many of us are looking for ways to improve the world we live in by cutting our emissions. I'm already vegetarian and have been for over 3 years but I support this campaign as it is effective and can help see change for the better. I think people need to do their research before they completely knock it because that would be a mistake and misguided.
I also dont really understand what political agenda Paul McCartney has, I didnt know he had a career in Politics. Seems to me he will be talking as a concerned citizen more than anything and he has that right to do so. I support him in that role.
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Amy | 17 November 2009 10:59 pm
Herbert's stance is propaganda of the first order - the worst order. We need action NOW, not decades from now, and individuals everywhere could make a difference. We don't need the naysayers at this stage of the game. And to think this is the UK's Shadow Environment Secretary.
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Anonymous | 1 December 2009 3:31 pm
So Paul McCartney thinks we should all eat something other than meat on one day a week? Great idea. Why not reaquaint ourselves with vegetables and have quorn meat substitute instead. We are all in this together and we should all try to help the situation if we possibly can. Of course, population control is the thing that would really make the difference, but I understand why no government is going to want to deal with that "hot potato"!
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Jen K | 21 December 2009 2:15 pm
It is not necessarily more environmentally sound to eat vegitarian. If I eat meat out of my freezer which came from local grass-fed cattle I am gentler on the environment than someone who eats processed soy protien from China grown by a conventional farmer on a soy/corn rotation topped with vegetables shipped in from the tropics. Meat is not the bad guy, poor oil-dependant farming practices are the problem, as is overeating, farming subsidies, consolidation and vertical integration, non-seasonal eating, etc. Leave it to a musician to assume he can solve the worlds problems in one simple solution. Nice try.
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