Lamb chopped as bishops turn veggie

At least four bishops are to give up meat for Lent in order to draw attention to global problems caused by its over-consumption.

The Bishops of Oxford, Mon­mouth, and Chelmsford, and the former Bishop of Dover are all meat-eaters, but they have been asked to give up meat by the Anglican Society for the Welfare of Animals (ASWA), which, for the first time, is actively encouraging its members to give up meat for Lent.

The Bishop of Oxford, the Rt Revd John Pritchard, said that meat was a “spiritual issue”. He would not find it easy to give it up, he said, but his wife has been preparing him gradually by cooking vegetarian dishes.

“Our consumption of meat is reaching dangerous levels,” he said, “and, as countries like China con­tinue to develop fast, it is only set to continue. We need to have more meat-free days. I hope that at the end of Lent I’ll be able to make a more permanent change to eating less meat.” Keep reading