Sir Paul name-checks Ghent as being good for green thinking

SIR Paul McCartney name-checked the quaint and ancient Belgian city of Ghent yesterday in support of his campaign to reduce the amount of meat we eat.

Last May Ghent became the first place in the world to go totally vegetarian – at least once a week.

The city burghers abolished burgers to declare a “meatless day”, during which all Ghent civil servants and elected councillors eat only vegetarian food in recognition of the impact livestock have on the environment.

According to the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organisation, livestock are responsible for 18% of global greenhouse gas emissions – a figure cited by Sir Paul in his European Parliament address. So Ghent’s officials, in co-operation with Belgium’s national vegetarian organisation, Ethical Vegetarian Alternative, (EVA) chose Thursdays as a vegetarian day for officials and – from September – for the city’s children too.

There were “veggieday” celebrations at the start of the initiative. There were free veggie lunch snacks, vegetarian cooking demonstrations, and general information about healthy eating.

EVA argues that any reduction of meat production and consumption which leads to a reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and the degradation of soil, water and air, desertification and deforestation, benefits the environment.

An EVA statement said: “Ghent is determined to go the extra mile in our common battle against climate change.

“Other Belgian cities have already shown interest in following Ghent’s example.”

Sir Paul did his bit yesterday, persuading the European Parliament restaurants to offer their customers a vast choice of vegetarian dishes – at least half of the available dishes were meat-free instead of the usual one or two meat-free options.