SEBASTIAN SHAKESPEARE: Sir Richard Branson gives up beef - to save the world



Tycoon Sir Richard Branson announces with great fanfare that he has renounced beef.

‘I have given up what was previously one of my favourite foods,’ he declares.

‘Meat consumption today contributes to global warming and environmental degradation.’

Tycoon Sir Richard Branson has announced that he has renounced beef to help save the planet

At the latest count, Beardie’s company Virgin Atlantic operates 38 aircraft, creating a carbon footprint of 5.9 million tonnes of the greenhouse gas CO2 each year.

Branson also plans to launch Virgin Galactic spacecraft, whose emissions will be the equivalent of a return trip by jet from London to Los Angeles for each passenger.

A juicy quarter-pounder, incidentally, is said to cause 0.0015 tonnes of CO2 emissions, according to even the most militant of eco-warriors.