Morrissey’s performance at Madison Square Garden in June will be meat-free

Last week (Friday 1st May), Morrissey penned an open letter to Al Gore and Kevin Wall, urging them to go animal-product free at the upcoming Live Earth 2015 event. In the request obtained by Rolling Stone, Morrissey told the campaigners that his 27th June performance at New York’s Madison Square Garden will serve a “100 percent meat-free menu.” Morrissey’s quote reads:

“Not only is it possible for venues to provide a 100 percent meat-free menu-as is done now at every concert venue in which I perform, including Madison Square Garden, where I have a show at the end of June-it’s also a moral duty.”

Since issuing the request, local newspaper The New York Post contacted staff at the venue about Morrissey’s assertion, and though there has been some confusion, it appears that the singer will be granted his request.

One vendor at the venue, Daily Burger, will close for the evening, with owner Drew Nieporent quoted as saying: “This is the first time I’m hearing about it. But I love my man Morrissey,” he said. “He’s a wonderful artist, so I wouldn’t mind. He can do whatever he wants… We’ll just go and enjoy the music.”

Read more on The New York Post’s website here and read the full letter from last week below.

Dear Mr. Gore and Mr. Wall,

I am writing to ask you to do the one thing that will do the most good for the planet and the majority of its inhabitants: not serve meat or dairy products at Live Earth 2015. I don’t mean offering a vegan option-I mean not serving animal products at all. Otherwise, the event will make no sense-it’ll be “greenwashing.” Serving meat and dairy products at an event to combat climate change is like selling pistols at a gun-control rally. Your responsibility is to alert people to a crisis, not sell out to the vendors responsible for it.

Not only is it possible for venues to provide a 100 percent meat-free menu-as is done now at every concert venue in which I perform, including Madison Square Garden, where I have a show at the end of June - it’s also a moral duty.

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. 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.

Since you can’t miss the fact that meat consumption is killing the planet-your own sponsor organization, the United Nations, states this-and since venues can and will cater vegan food for events, if you choose to serve animal flesh at Live Earth, you’ll be making a mockery of the very concept of the event, in which case it should be renamed “Dead Earth: We Contributed!”

Don’t be a denier of the causes of climate change. You know the facts. Make the right choice.

Sincerely, Morrissey.