This month, animal campaigning group Viva! are holding their annual Veggie Month. This time, we are highlighting the toll that eating meat and dairy has not only on farmed animals, but also animals in the wild.

You might ask: what has eating a beef burger got to do with killing monkeys? The answer is lots! It’s a little known fact, but the meat and dairy industries are the number one cause of Loss of Biodiversity around the world. They top the list in making wildlife and plants extinct.

Eating a burger doesn’t just cost the life of the cow, it also costs the lives of innumerable wild animals by destroying their natural habitat through ranching and clearing land to grow crops to feed farmed animals. Europe imports 18 million tons of soya every year from cleared land in the Amazon; almost all of it used to feed animals. Our meat and dairy rich Western diets mean that we are literally munching our way through the rainforest.

The reality is that by going veggie, the average Brit not only saves the lives of 11,047 animals in a lifetime (simply by not eating them), but also a whole jungle’s worth of wild animals, too!

To help people make the switch, we are offering our It’s Time to Go Veggie! magazine free to all, simply ring Viva! on 0117 944 1000, email info@viva.org.uk or write to Viva! at 8 York Court, Wilder Street, Bristol BS2 8QH. Web: www.viva.org.uk.

JUSTIN KERSWELL Campaigns manager, Viva York Court, Wilder Street, Bristol BS2 8QH Tel: 0117 944 1000 www.viva.org.uk