Two leading UK doctors are backing a campaign for public health called No Meat May. A press release sent to vegconomist informs us that the GP’s are actively campaigning to stop fuelling the animal agriculture industry, and thus help prevent future cross-contamination from zoonotic diseases like COVID 19.
GP’s amongst all other frontline workers are currently seen as superheroes in the UK and as such the NHS-praising public is listening – hopefully therefore a vegan message coming from doctors at this point in time will be heeded. Top British graffiti artists have been promoting health workers, including the infamous Banksy, who recently left a personal image at Southampton hospital depicting a young boy with his Batman and Spiderman in the bin, in favour of a nurse in PPE.
Dr Gemma Newman, and the non-profit organisation Plant Based Health Professionals UK led by Dr Shireen Kassam, are calling on the public to give up eating meat this May for four key reasons: their health, the environment, for animals, and to ensure a more sustainable food system for all. The campaign surveyed 2,500 of the 33,000 people who signed up to this year’s campaign with results showing that personal health is the primary driver this year, with 79% of participants wanting to reduce their risk of chronic diseases.
Doctor Shireen Kassam stated: “We have known for decades that a healthy plant-based diet, which minimises or eliminates meat, is associated with some of the lowest rates of chronic disease and a longer and healthier life. Fruits, vegetables, whole grains and beans help reduce inflammation in the body and promote a healthy immune system, both of which are essential aspects of fighting an infection such as COVID-19.”
“Our industrial scale factory farms are like a ticking time bomb – yet I can guarantee that lentils will not spark a viral pandemic anytime soon. Many of us are sitting at home wondering what we can do to help this situation. Taking some time to reflect on what we eat, limiting the meat we put in our supermarket trolley and shifting to a more plant based diet will help us move towards a safer future. Signing up to the No Meat May campaign is a lovely way to feel supported in reducing meat consumption moving forwards.”
