“There are plenty of things that were once commonplace that are now illegal, such as smoking inside.”
Michael Mansfield, a top barrister in the UK, believes that eating meat could soon be made illegal due to the economical damage that it does to the planet.
Mansfield will present his ideas at the Labour Party conference for their Vegan Now campaign, taking place today (Monday 23 September), which includes the UK government potentially introducing tighter legislation to make activities which destroy the natural world illegal, up to and including the banning of the consumption of meat.
As it stands, 25% of global emissions come from agriculture, and livestock contributes to 80% of amount, with non-profit organisation the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy announcing last year that meat and dairy companies could overtake the oil industry as the world’s biggest polluters by 2050.
Speaking further on the matter, Mansfield told The Independent: “We know that the top 3,000 companies in the world are responsible for more than £1.5tn worth of damage to the environment, with meat and dairy production high on the list. We know that because the UN has told us so.
“I think when we look at the damage eating meat is doing to the planet it is not preposterous to think that one day it will become illegal.”
Additionally, Juliet Gellatley, the director of animal rights group Viva!, who will also be on the panel, said: “30 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 totally unnecessary and so we legislated against it. The same could happen with eating meat.”
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