5 European music stars that are vegetarians
June 17, 2016
Being a vegetarian is a growing trend. Around 10 percent of the German population doesn't eat meat. And they have something in common with quite a few European celebrities.
One of the most famous vegetarians is British ex-Beatle Paul McCartney, who has gone meat-free since 1975. He likes to recount a fishing trip he went on that opened his eyes. A fish bit on his hook and started gasping for breath. McCartney says he realized he was just there to kill for fun and the fish just wanted to live like he did.
After that, McCartney stopped eating animals and started campaigning for their rights. He's been a vocal spokesman for animal rights organization PETA and a common face in their campaigns.
But when it comes to being a vegetarian, McCartney said in an interview with PETA that it's not just about animal rights but about protecting the environment.
"Although this may seem to some like an unusual answer, the global meat industry and the land and water required to service it is one of the major contributors to global warming," Paul McCartney said in an interview with PETA. "This surprising fact has emerged in research over the past few years. So I would urge everyone to think about taking this simple step to help our precious environment and save it for the children of the future."
The ex-Beatle has also raised his children as vegetarians. His daughters Mary and Stella McCartney are veggie activists themselves and in 2009 they launched the Meat Free Monday campaign with their father.
The idea was to introduce one day of the week when people should choose salad over steak. In Great Britain, each person consumes an average of 85 kilos of meat per year.
Click through the gallery above for more famous people who've chosen to live as vegetarians.