The ex-Beatles pop music sensation Sir Paul McCartney and his two daughters are avidly campaigning for meatless Mondays to “reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the world’s livestock, among the most serious contributors to global warming.”
The Independent reports: “The McCartneys have attracted support from across the worlds of showbusiness, science, business and the environment. The singer Chris Martin, Hollywood stars Kevin Spacey and Woody Harrelson, actress Joanna Lumley and Sir Richard Branson are advocating meat-free Mondays.
“Support has also come from comedians Ricky Gervais, David Walliams and Matt Lucas, the poet Benjamin Zephaniah and Vogue editor Alexandra Shulman.
“Another supporter, Sir David King, the Government’s former chief scientist, said: ‘The carbon and water footprints associated with producing beef are about 20 times larger than maize production. Eating less meat will help the environment.’
Have a look at the Meatless Monday YouTube video here…
“Until the late Middle Ages, that was already standard practice throughout Europe. The Christian majority then abstained from meat each week as a matter of holy obligation, whether or not they could afford it.
(Interestingly, in India millions of Hindu followers of Lord Hanuman, of the legendary epic Ramayana fame, abstain from eating meat on Tuesdays. Even Muslim butchers close shop on Tuesdays to honour this Hindu sentiment.) See here for Hanuman film…
“The UN and Britain are concerned about the environmental impact of livestock, although the Government has shied away from urging people to eat less meat.
“Vast swathes of the Amazon rainforest are being cut down to make way for cattle ranches and to grow soy for feed. Belching from cows emits vast amounts of methane, which has 21 times the greenhouse effect of carbon dioxide.” More here…
The Australian government is encouraging people to eat kangaroo meat instead of cattle and sheep meat. (See here…)
Now some nostalgia…For The Beatles’ fans here is a site worth visiting…
In 1984 Playboy interviewed McCartney… See here…
Swaraaj Chauhan describes his two-decade-long stint as a full-time journalist as eventful, purposeful, and full of joy and excitement. In 1993 he could foresee a different work culture appearing on the horizon, and decided to devote full time to teaching journalism (also, partly, with a desire to give back to the community from where he had enriched himself so much.)
Alongside, he worked for about a year in 1993 for the US State Department’s SPAN magazine, a nearly five-decade-old art and culture monthly magazine promoting US-India relations. It gave him an excellent opportunity to learn about things American, plus the pleasure of playing tennis in the lavish American embassy compound in the heart of New Delhi.
In !995 he joined WWF-India as a full-time media and environment education consultant and worked there for five years travelling a great deal, including to Husum in Germany as a part of the international team to formulate WWF’s Eco-tourism policy.
He taught journalism to honors students in a college affiliated to the University of Delhi, as also at the prestigious Indian Institute of Mass Communication where he lectured on “Development Journalism” to mid-career journalists/Information officers from the SAARC, African, East European and Latin American countries, for eight years.
In 2004 the BBC World Service Trust (BBC WST) selected him as a Trainer/Mentor for India under a European Union project. In 2008/09 He completed another European Union-funded project for the BBC WST related to Disaster Management and media coverage in two eastern States in India — West Bengal and Orissa.
Last year, he spent a couple of months in Australia and enjoyed trekking, and also taught for a while at the University of South Australia.
Recently, he was appointed as a Member of the Board of Studies at Chitkara University in Chandigarh, a beautiful city in North India designed by the famous Swiss/French architect Le Corbusier. He also teaches undergraduate and postgraduate students there.
He loves trekking, especially in the hills, and never misses an opportunity to play a game of tennis. The Western and Indian classical music are always within his reach for instant relaxation.
And last, but not least, is his firm belief in the power of the positive thought to heal oneself and others.