MEMBERS of Redditch Vegetarians & Vegans (RVV) took to the town centre last week to try to encourage people to stop eating meat.

The event was part of the Vegetarians International Voice for Animals (Viva!'s) Britain Goes Veggie Month.

A spokesman said: "The earth is getting hotter and livestock production is seriously involved, producing 100 million tons of methane every year - a gas 21 times more damaging than carbon dioxide.

"The world's fresh water supplies are drying up. It takes 100,000 litres to produce 1kg of beef but only 1,000 litres to produce 1kg of wheat.

"Farmed animals produce 13 billion tonnes of waste every year. One hundred times more polluting than human sewage, this toxic dung causes acid rain, pollutes waterways and devastates wildlife.

"At least 70 per cent of all farm land in Britain is used to feed animals, and rainforests are still being felled to graze beef cattle.

"Poor countries are encouraged to grow cash crops such as animal fodder to earn foreign currency to meet their debt repayments - at the expense of food for home consumption.

"These frightening facts are highlighted in Viva!'s new hard-hitting leaflet, The Planet and It's People, many hundreds of which we distributed on Friday.

For more details, call 458395 or visit www.redditchveggies.org.uk