Morrissey: "Serving Meat and Dairy Products at an Event to Combat Climate Change is Like Selling Pistols at a Gun-Control Rally".
Morrissey has issued another of his open letters to the major newsmakers of the world, this time criticizing Al Gore and his partner Kevin Wall on their upcoming Live Earth shows.
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As they did in 2007, Gore and Wall are presenting a 24-hour concert event that promises music performances from six different continents. The event will be anchored from Paris and New York with featured performers yet to be announce, although Pharrell Williams was part of the the initial announcement of the June 18 event.
The letter, initially received by Rolling Stone and since sent to many other media outlets, ends with the suggestion that they change the name of the event to "Dead Earth: We Contributed!". So far, it has not been reposted on TrueToYou.com, Morrissey's normal clearinghouse for his lengthy statements.
Here is the full text of the letter:
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
