Could turning veggie save the planet – or are vegetarians simply jumping on the green bandwagon? After even a cursory look at the facts it's clear that not only do vegetarians deserve complimentary bandwagon tickets, they should get a free upgrade and some tasty snacks (though ix-nay the bacon sarnies).

 

Paul McCartney has kicked off a new PETA ad campaign to encourage everyone to stop eating meat – or at least to cut back. Sir Paul suggests 'Meat-free Mondays' as a way to reduce meat consumption – and its impact on animal welfare, world hunger, health and the environment.

 

"If anyone wants to save the planet, the single most important thing you could do is just stop eating meat," says Sir Paul. "One of the most significant conclusions of the recent report on climate change was that we should eat less meat. This is not the Vegetarian Society that said that. It's the UN."

World hunger: The world's cattle eat enough calories to nourish 8.7 billion people (more than the Earth's entire population).

 

Water: You need 2,500 gallons of water to produce a pound of meat, but only 25 gallons to produce a pound of wheat. 

Land, pollution and resources: On 10 hectares of land, you can produce meat to feed two people, maize to feed 10 people, grain to feed 24 people or soya to feed 61 people. Animal agriculture pollutes waterways and creates methane. Since 1950, half of all the world's rain forests have been destroyed to make way for grazing animals. Animal agriculture also encourages desertification.

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