New “Meat Free Monday” film launched

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On this day, a new “Meat Free Monday” film is launched, narrated by Paul McCartney, and using, as its soundtrack, tracks from the 1997 classical music album “Standing Stone” and an unreleased track called “Botswana“.

From paulmccartney.com, November 3, 2017:

With appearances by Paul, Mary and Stella McCartney, Woody Harrelson and Emma Stone, ‘One Day a Week’ highlights the damaging environmental impact of animal agriculture and encourages people to help by eating less meat.
 
Ahead of the UN Climate Change Conference (COP 23) next week, Meat Free Monday has released a short film about a huge contributor to climate change that is often left out of conference discussions – animal agriculture.
 
“There’s a simple but significant way to help protect the planet and all its inhabitants”, says Paul to camera.  “And it starts with just one day a week.  One day without eating animal products can have a huge impact in helping maintain that delicate balance that sustains us all.”

With dire consequences for ourselves and future generations, livestock production results in vast amounts of greenhouse gases being released into the atmosphere. It requires increasingly unsustainable levels of precious resources including land, water and energy, and is a major contributor towards global environmental degradation and climate change.
 
The Meat Free Monday campaign has had an incredible response since its launch in 2009, with many of the world’s leading authorities on climate change endorsing meat reduction as an effective way of fighting global warming.
 
The campaign’s new film ‘One Day a Week’, largely funded by Bloomberg Philanthropies and produced in collaboration with French film director Yann Arthus-Bertrand’s Hope Production, amplifies this message using the breathtaking aerial photography with which Arthus-Bertrand has become synonymous.  
 
Narrated by Paul, and with appearances from Paul, Mary and Stella McCartney, Woody Harrelson and Emma Stone, the film describes how the beauty of the planet only exists through a delicate balance of climatic conditions – a balance we are dangerously disrupting through our insatiable desire for animal products.

The film uses Paul’s own music – tracks from his 1997 classical music album Standing Stone, as well as an unreleased song called ‘Botswana’.  

Meat Free Monday’s aim is to raise awareness and inspire people to make a change in their diets from an easily achievable starting point. 

Transcript of the narration by Paul McCartney:

Life… Its very existence on Earth is the result of an amazing series of coincidences. Our planet’s physical make up and position in the Solar System have resulted in a delicate balance of climatic conditions that would not exist if it were just slightly nearer to the Sun or slightly further away. Thanks to these perfect conditions, Earth has become home to millions of species of plants and animals, including us humans.

We’ve learnt to harness the power and the bounty of the planet leading to our great success as a species. I’m amazed at the things we humans have been able to create. Like the skyscrapers in New York. And paddy fields cultivated in the same way for hundreds of years. But with this success comes the responsibility to preserve the delicate balance to which we owe our existence.

I don’t know about you, but for me, nature is inspiring and invigorating. When I think of the beauty of the world, I think of things like the crystal clear waters of the Great Barrier Reef, of majestic whales, lush green rainforests and the virgin mountain slopes of the Himalayas. But what kind of images will our grandchildren and great-grandchildren have in their minds when thinking about the world in just 10 or 20 years’ time?

We’ve heard it all before… Our way of life is destroying the planet, and fossil fuels, used for transport and industry, are to blame.

That’s certainly true but that’s only part of the problem. What we often don’t hear much about is animal agriculture. Animal agriculture results in vast amounts of greenhouse gases being released into the atmosphere. It requires increasingly unsustainable levels of precious resources including land, water and energy. It is a major contributor towards global environmental degradation and climate change.

And it’s not just livestock rearing that’s a problem. Industrialised fishing destroys marine ecosystems as miles of nets sweep up anything in their path.

Perhaps it’s time to ask ourselves the question “What can I as an individual do to help?” Well… There’s a simple but significant way to help protect the planet and all its inhabitants. And it starts with just one day a week. One day without eating animal products can have a huge impact in helping maintain that delicate balance that sustains us all.

Transcript of the narration by Paul McCartney, Stella McCartney, Mary McCartney, Emma Stone, Woody Harrelson:

Almost a third of all land on Earth is used for livestock production. Just try a day. Just one day. A third of all cereal crops and more than 95% of soy is turned into feed for farmed animals. One day a week can make a world of difference. An area of rainforest the size of a hundred football pitches is cut down every hour to create room for grazing cattle. It can take 2,350 litres of fresh water, that’s about 30 bathtubs, to produce just one beefburger. Just try a day. Join us. Join us. Join us and go meat free on Mondays.

Paul McCartney, Stella McCartney, Mary McCartney, Emma Stone, Woody Harrelson

Last updated on March 15, 2021