Paul McCartney: “Meat-Free Is the New Rock and Roll”

In a recent interview with media outlet The Telegraph, iconic musician Paul McCartney explained why he believes that “meat-free is the new rock and roll.” The musician spoke about the rapid evolution of vegetarian options and paid tribute to the legacy left by his late wife Linda McCartney. McCartney reminisced about how he and his wife were both vegetarian in the seventies, when a plant-based diet was considered unusual and meatless options at restaurants were limited to plates of steamed vegetables. “They couldn’t think beyond that,” McCartney said. “We thought, hmm, we’ve got to try to do something to remedy this.” To do so, Linda wrote vegetarian cookbook Linda McCartney’s Home Cooking and launched her eponymous line of frozen vegetarian meals. “She was very persuasive but very gentle with it,” McCartney said of Linda’s vegetarianism. “In 25 years, vegetarian food will be the norm.” Linda died of breast cancer in 1998 but her work continued through Paul McCartney and their daughters, Mary McCartney (co-founder of the Meat Free Mondays campaign) and vegan-friendly fashion designer Stella McCartney, who continues to explore innovative materials, such as yeast-based silk, to replace animal products in her collections.