 Edward McMillan-Scott has long been concerned about climate change. In 1989 he ran a 'green' election campaign.
To raise awareness of this issue Edward intiated a European Parliament Hearing on Climate Change and Food Policy entitled Less Meat = Less Heat in Brussels on December 3 2009 - the week before the Copenhagen climate change summit.
The two key speakers invited by Edward to this event were Dr Rajendra Pachauri (head of the IPCC) and campaigner Sir Paul McCartney. He produced a Green Card focusing on the concept of a meat-free day and his Brussels Hearing.Watch Macca tell MEPs "eat less meat to cut Co2"By Sean Stowell, Producer, BBC Politics Show for Yorkshire, Lincolnshire and the North Midlands Sir Paul McCartney has been promoting his "Meat-Free Monday" campaign on the international stage as farmers and politicians clash over the former Beatle's claims.
On the eve of the Copenhagen world summit on climate change, Sir Paul took his meat-free message to the European Parliament after being invited there by Yorkshire MEP Edward McMillan Scott.
Sir Paul's campaign, backed by Mr McMillan Scott, claims one day's less meat-eating a week could have a major impact on efforts to cut CO2 emissions. More...
Scientists urge less meat and dairy products to save the planet and save health  People should eat less meat and dairy products to reduce the effects of climate change and save thousands of lives a year, a government-funded report has said. Dr Alan Dangour (r) of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Health outlined the report at the European Parliament hearing on December 3.
Reducing the amount of saturated fat consumed through meat products by 30 per cent could help prevent an estimated 18,000 premature deaths a year, as well as being good for the planet, medical researchers say.
Further efforts to drive down carbon emissions such as walking or cycling instead of driving short distances or improving energy efficiency in homes also have health benefits that could save thousands of lives, according to a special edition of the Lancet medical journal. More...
 COP15: the UN Copenhagen Summit
At the COP15 UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen 7-18 December 2009 the international community is looked at how to tackle climate change post Kyoto.
Among the many aspects of human behaviour that impact our environment one of the most serious, yet often over-looked, is the livestock industry which accounts for 18% of greenhouse emmissions, compared to 13% from transport.
This was brought to worldwide attention in the UN's FAO 2006 report 'Livestock's Long Shadow'. This report was endorsed by the chariman of the UN Intergovernemental Panel on Climate Change, Dr Rajendra Pachauri who stated that the most effective way to combact climate change was to have one meat-free day a week.
This was further endorsed by Sir Paul McCartney, who launched his Meat-Free Monday campaign in June. In recent weeks Lord Stern, author of the Stern Review Report on the Economics of Climate Change, and Chair of Grantham Institute for Climate Change and the Environment at the London School of Economics (LSE) stated in an interview with the Sunday Times that “Meat is a wasteful use of water and creates a lot of greenhouse gases. It puts enormous pressure on the world’s resources. A vegetarian diet is better.” Sir Paul McCartney contributes exclusive vegetarian essay to new "library on the run" iPhone app  Ether Books, a new iPhone app that was launched in April 2010, includes an exclusive "Meat-Free Monday" essay writen by Sir Paul. The app enables users to browse, read and purchase on the move and is available free through the Apple iTunes store.
Paul talks about his campaign, including his visit to the European Parliament, as well as the new iPhone app on BBC 4's Today Programme. Listen here... Jonathan Safran Foer's book, Eating Animals The acclaimed author Jonathan Safran Foer's book "Eating Animals" explores the topics of factory farming and commercial fisheries, deducing that the only realistic lifestle is a  vegetarian one. Foer's interest in the matter began when he became a father. Although he had experimented with vegetarianism through his life it was when he became a father that he felt he had to look into how best to bring up his children. This led to his exploration of the meat industry. The book is not so much the case to eat less meat but more a call to look into the way we farm. He says by pretending we are completely distinct from all other animals, we "deny important parts of our humanity". The book has been well received around the globe and so he joins the many intellectuals and scientists that believe to benefit the ourselves and the planet we need to look towards a diet less reliant on meat.
|  
Watch CNN's coverage of Edward's Less Meat = Less Heat hearing in Brussels with Macca and the UN's climate change chief
(Above) Sir Paul McCartney behind the scenes with organiser Alexandra Derrington Clark, assistant to Edward McMillan-Scott MEP  3 June 2010
UN urges global move to meat and dairy-free dietA global shift towards a vegan diet is vital to save the world from hunger, fuel poverty and the worst impacts of climate change, a UN report said today.
As the global population surges towards a predicted 9.1 billion people by 2050, western tastes for diets rich in meat and dairy products are unsustainable, says the report from United Nations Environment Programme's (UNEP) international panel of sustainable resource management. Read more... You can read the United Nations Environment Programme's report "Assessing the Environmental impact of Consumption and Production" here. System Change - How eating less meat can protect Europe's precious biodiversityEdward McMillan-Scott explains in the Parliament Magazine, 31 May 2010 This week opened with UN Biodiversity Day on Sunday and the European Commission’s traditional Green Week turns the spotlight on biodiversity. A UN report on the Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity, to be released this summer, concludes that it will cost us more in the long term not to protect our biodiversity than the economic cost of climate change. This startling conclusion will build on the UK government’s Stern Report , which argued that if no action is taken on emissions, there is more than a 75% chance of global temperatures rising between two and three degrees Celsius over the next 50 years. Read more...
McCARTNEY NOT ABOUT 'YESTERDAY', BUT TOMORROW SAYS MEAT-FREE MEP Speaking at a Hearing in Brussels today (Thurs - 3 Dec) Edward McMillan-Scott praised Sir Paul McCartney for his "time and energy" for advancing a cause that he shares, the contribution of livestock production to greenhouse gases. The European Parliament Hearing, organised and chaired by McMillan-Scott (Yorkshire & Humber) was held to put the "Less Meat = Less Heat" message on the agenda of next week's (7-18 Dec) Copenhagen climate summit.
 "Paul McCartney was the sole author of one of the most popular songs in history, 'Yesterday', but he is here today to discuss tomorrow - your future and your children's future" said Edward McMillan-Scott, introducing Sir Paul.
Watch clip here
Before the Hearing McMillan-Scott announced: "I am pleased that Sir Paul McCartney and UN climate chief Dr Rajendra Pachauri chose my Brussels Hearing on Global Warming and Food Policy on 3 December 2009 to launch their key message "Less Meat = Less Heat" before the Copenhagen climate change summit. The three of us have chosen not to eat meat. "Sustainable meat, dairy and fish production is hardly mentioned in the climate change debate. A change of diet is our biggest chance to stop global warming - and save our health and money. It would also benefit millions of producers in Europe's uplands and the world's most difficult terrains." Joint statement Another keynote speaker Dr Rajendra Pachauri, chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, referred to studies that meat production emits more dangerous gases - 18 per cent - than all transport - 13 per cent. McMillan-Scott, Sir Paul McCartney and Dr Pachauri signed a joint statement calling on governments and individuals to recognise the importance of meat and its impact on health and the environment.
Sir Paul McCartney The legendary ex-Beatle - whose 'Good Evening Europe' tour starts in early December - has long been active in promoting a vegetarian diet. In June 2009 he lauched a campaign called Meat-Free Monday, encouraging people to not eat meat on Mondays.
Dr Rajendra Pachauri  Vegetarian Dr Rajendra Pachauri is the Chairman of the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. He has emphasised the role of meat-eating in climate change since the publication in 2006 of the UN Food and Agricultural Organisation's 400-page study "Livestock's Long Shadow'
|