Template letter: Write to your MP and ask them to support

Meat-Free May

Dear [name] MP

I am contacting you on behalf of [your group name] to ask if you would be willing to take part in Meat-Free May this year, and lend your support to this growing movement to improve our health and safeguard the planet.

Most people eat meat twice a day without even thinking about it. In the UK, we each eat on average 187 animals each year. But the amount of meat and fish we feast on is damaging our planet and our health.

  • Livestock production makes up 14.5 per cent of total global greenhouse gas emissions and is one of the causes of deforestation and climate change.
  • Our taste for fish has been stripping the seas; over 70 per cent of the world’s fish stocks are over or fully exploited.
  • In the UK, our annual animal consumption emits 1,491lbs of CO2 per capita each year
  • Our health is suffering: a shift to lower-meat diets in the UK could prevent 45,000 early deaths each year and save the NHS over £1.2 billion per year.

Levels of global meat consumption are rising, and if we in the UK do not cut down on the amount of meat in our diets there will increasingly negative consequences for our climate, animal welfare, our environment and our ability to feed everyone round the world.

For these reasons, Meat Free May is now in its third year, helping individuals to understand the problems caused by a high meat diet, get to grips with fruit and veg, and explore new and different ways of eating. We ask you to take the lead in our community and commit to going meat-free for a month to demonstrate that a lower meat diet is possible. You could personally save at least 14 animals and prevent 115lbs of CO2 from damaging our climate; and persuade hundreds of other people to take action to explore a more sustainable diet too.

Please let us know if you are interested in taking part. We can provide additional facts and figures, infographics and posters including a social media ident to help you explain your participation and encourage others to follow your lead.

Thanks,

[your name, Local group name]