Mary McCartney: My mother Linda started a revolution
If all that wasn't enough, Sir Paul McCartney's daughter is also proud to be vegetarian - and even prouder that her pioneering mum Linda started her own veggie food range when such things were unheard of.
A quarter of a century later, Linda McCartney Foods (LMF) is a major part of a burgeoning UK vegetarian food market that has almost quadrupled since the range was launched.
Mary is rightfully proud of Linda's achievements, and the way she shared her environmentally-friendly ethos with her family and brought vegetarian diets to the wider public. Since LMF launched in 1991, the number of vegetarians in the UK has doubled, from 6% of the population to 12%. "She didn't even realise what a food revolutionary she was," says Mary proudly. "Vegetarian food ranges are quite mainstream now, but when she started, it was completely unheard of to have a range like that. I think we're all quite proud of it, and we want to work to ensure it carries on her ethics."
Along with being a successful photographer and writing vegetarian cookbooks, strong ethics are something else Mary (46), shares with her mum, who died from breast cancer in 1998.
She explains that her fundamental reasons for championing a meat-free life are both the animal rights issues, and the environmental damage caused by meat production - the UN says the livestock sector is one of the most significant contributors to serious environmental problems.
By: Lisa Salmon
Source: Belfast Telegraph
