In addition to a good invention, the internet, Al Gore also gave us an evil one — global warming. Luckily Paul McCartney has come to the rescue, using one to defeat the other. He’s asking fans to go meatless on Mondays for now on, in sort of a modified old-school Lent, in order to slow global warming by reducing emissions of farm animals.

The Kansas City Star on the matter:

Cows, pigs and sheep bred for human consumption discharge millions of tons of methane, a more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide. Livestock accounts for about 18 percent of greenhouse gases, more than all the world’s cars, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization has said.

Supported in his cause by celebrity chefs and Hollywood actors, McCartney said in a statement Monday that skipping meat a day a week is a “meaningful” change everyone can make to their lifestyles to help the environment. Less consumption may lead to fewer animals reared, and so emissions would fall.

McCartney is working under the assumption that less demand for meat will lead to fewer farm animals, overlooking the inconvenient truth that if we don’t keep eating meat seven days a week, the populations of flatulent farm animals will surely explode unchecked and thus hasten the destruction of the environment.

But the man did rock us senseless with Wings (which will heretofore be remembered on Mondays as “Celery Sticks”) so who are we to question his wisdom?

The Consumer Memo, 6/15: Paul McCartney backs meatless Mondays [Kansas City Star]
(Photo: u2acro)

Want more consumer news? Visit our parent organization, Consumer Reports, for the latest on scams, recalls, and other consumer issues.