Morrisey's "Scathing Open Letter to Al Gore and Live Earth" [View all]

[Miles Archer]

Read Morrissey's Scathing Open Letter to Al Gore and Live Earth
"Serving meat and dairy products at an event to combat climate change is like selling pistols at a gun-control rally," Smiths singer says of June 18th global event
By Daniel Kreps April 29, 2015



http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/read-morrisseys-scathing-open-letter-to-al-gore-and-live-earth-20150429

Morrissey has penned an open letter to Al Gore asking that the former vice president offer a vegan-only menu at the 2015 incarnation of Live Earth. In the letter addressed to Gore and fellow Live Earth co-founder Kevin Wall, obtained exclusively by Rolling Stone, the Smiths singer, along with PETA, writes, "Serving meat and dairy products at an event to combat climate change is like selling pistols at a gun-control rally."

"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," Morrissey writes. "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."

Gore, Wall and Pharrell Williams – the latter in the role of creative director – announced that the 2015 Live Earth event would take place June 18th in a series of concerts in six continents over the course of 24 hours. Dubbed "Live Earth Road to Paris," the fest marks the beginning of a yearlong campaign to "shine a global spotlight" before this year's United Nation climate change conference in Paris. The event promises to feature over 100 artists, though no talent has been announced yet.

Morrissey, who cemented his view of carnivores with the Smiths album title Meat Is Murder, threatened to cancel a February 2013 performance at Los Angeles' Staples Center because the venue housed vendors – including McDonalds – that offered meat products. While the Staples Center didn't go entirely meat-free, Morrissey agreed to perform after the venue closed all McDonalds outlets as well as expanded their vegetarian options. (In his open letter to Gore, Morrissey also boasts that his June concert at New York's Madison Square Garden will also be entirely meat-free, though a spokesperson for the venue did not immediately reply to a request for confirmation.)