As COP30 gets underway in Belém, Brazil, Paul McCartney has written to conference president André Corrêa do Lago on behalf of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), urging organisers to align the summit’s catering with its climate goals by adopting a fully meat free menu.
“Protecting the life-sustaining Amazon must be a top priority for environmentalists of all nationalities, so I was shocked to learn that only 40 per cent of the food served at COP30 is currently slated to be vegetarian,” Paul wrote in the letter. “Serving meat at a climate summit is like handing out cigarettes at a cancer-prevention conference! I urge you to lead by example and make the conference all vegetarian.”
Research consistently identifies animal agriculture as a significant contributor to global greenhouse gas emissions. In the Amazon region – where COP30 is taking place – deforestation and fires linked to cattle ranching and feed crop cultivation continue to release large volumes of carbon and devastate biodiversity.
It’s not the first time that Paul McCartney has called on global leaders to take the environmental impact of animal agriculture seriously. A decade ago, following Meat Free Monday’s Climate Pledge campaign in the UK and US, he and his daughters, Mary and Stella, wrote to then-Prime Minister David Cameron urging the UK and other governments to encourage citizens to reduce their meat consumption. The family also created and appeared in the documentary short One Day a Week, highlighting how small dietary changes can help protect the planet.