Morrissey has written an open letter to the American politican and climate change activist Al Gore.
In the letter, Morrissey urges Gore to serve a vegan menu at Live Earth, the forthcoming climate change event which is scheduled to place on June 18 at venues around the world.
The letter, which has been published on Rolling Stone, was addressed to Gore and his co-organiser Kevin Wall on behalf of PETA.
Morrissey compares “serving meat and dairy products at an event to combat climate change is like selling pistols at a gun-control rally” and that it is Gore and Wall’s “moral duty” to promote a vegan diet at Live Earth.
“If you choose to serve animal flesh at Live Earth, you’ll be making a mockery of the very concept of the event, in which case it should be renamed “Dead Earth: We Contributed!’,” Morrissey adds.
The letter in full:
Dear Mr. Gore and Mr. Wall,
I am writing to ask you to do the one thing that will do the most good for the planet and the majority of its inhabitants: not serve meat or dairy products at Live Earth 2015. I don’t mean offering a vegan option-I mean not serving animal products at all. Otherwise, the event will make no sense-it’ll be “greenwashing.” Serving meat and dairy products at an event to combat climate change is like selling pistols at a gun-control rally. Your responsibility is to alert people to a crisis, not sell out to the vendors responsible for it.
Not only is it possible for venues to provide a 100 percent meat-free menu-as is done now at every concert venue in which I perform, including Madison Square Garden, where I have a show at the end of June-it’s also a moral duty.
We already know that raising animals for food is a leading cause of climate change and that moving toward a vegan diet is necessary to combat climate change’s worst effects. Animal agriculture severely affects the world’s freshwater supply and is a major contributor to global greenhouse-gas emissions, deforestation, loss of biodiversity, and air and water pollution, among many other harmful effects.
Since you can’t miss the fact that meat consumption is killing the planet-your own sponsor organization, the United Nations, states this-and since venues can and will cater vegan food for events, if you choose to serve animal flesh at Live Earth, you’ll be making a mockery of the very concept of the event, in which case it should be renamed “Dead Earth: We Contributed!”
Don’t be a denier of the causes of climate change. You know the facts. Make the right choice.
Sincerely, Morrissey