Radical barrister says eating meat should be illegal as he calls for new ‘ecocide’ law
EATING meat could be outlawed, a radical barrister has said.
Michael Mansfield QC is calling for a new law to criminalise the “wilful destruction of nature”.
The 77-year-old, whose clients included the Stephen Lawrence family and the Guildford Four, claimed livestock farming is destroying the planet.
He said of meat-eating: “It is not preposterous to think one day it will become illegal.
“There are plenty of things once commonplace that are now illegal.”
He is leading a “Vegan Now” campaign at the Labour Party Conference in Brighton. Experts claim the world’s top three meat firms emit more greenhouse gases each year than all of France.
Mr Mansfield said: “It is time for a new law on ‘ecocide’ to go alongside genocide and the other crimes against humanity.”
A panel of experts will debate the effects of livestock farming on global biodiversity and climate change.
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Juliet Gellatley, of vegan charity Viva!, said: “Thirty years ago people didn’t bat an eyelid if you lit a cigarette in a pub or restaurant.
“But now society accepts smoking is harmful and so we legislated against it. The same could happen with eating meat.”
But Stuart Roberts of the National Farmers Union said: “We’ve committed to being carbon-neutral by 2040.” Any law “would miss the opportunity to be able to produce sustainable food”, he added.
- University campuses across Britain are slashing meat from menus as the number of vegan students has quadrupled, caterers said
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