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So Beatlemania may be long over, but the influence of the world's most famous pop band lives on—or at least so hopes founding member Paul McCartney, who's launched a movement to get people to stop eating meat on Mondays to help combat global warming. The movement began last year, but has now gained enough momentum to become an international phenomenon.
McCartney, a longtime vegetarian, has embarked on a quest to cut carbon emissions by curbing the demand for meat worldwide. The meat-free Mondays campaign, which is also backed by a slew of internationally renowned celebrities, artists, and musicians, will attempt to get as many people to give up eating meat, at least for one day a week.
And how exactly will that help fight climate change? Well, put simply, and as you may have heard, cow farts and burps are chock-full of greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming. It's a favorite mocking point for uninformed climate skeptics, but it's true. Cows emit methane, a greenhouse gas more potent than carbon dioxide, every time they burp or fart. In fact, some estimates, put cows as contributing 14-18% of greenhouse gas emissions worldwide. That's more than the world's automobiles emit, in case you were curious.
If everyone were to just cut back on their meat consumption (a solution we've advocated often before in various forms—weekday vegetarianism, one-month vegetarianism, etc.), we could see some major progress in curbing carbon emissions. According to Greenpeace, if we were to cease eating meat on Mondays, we could cut up to 20% of carbon emissions from cattle.
So join McCartney—and such celebrities as Alec Baldwin, Chris Martin, Jeff Koons, Ricky Gervais, and Sheryl Crow—and cut meat out of your Mondays.
More on Carbon Emissions from Cows:
New Cow Diet Reduces Methane Emissions...and No, It's Not M&Ms
Cow Belch Chocolate? Cadbury's Works to Reduce Bovine Emissions
Danes Get Ready to Tax Cow Farts
Quiz: Are You an Eco-Friendly Eater?
Got a tip or a post idea for us to write about on Planet Green? Email pgtips (at) treehugger (dot) com.
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