Many people view the environmental challenges faced today to be overpowering and without ready solutions.

To encourage an easy and accessible solution to the crisis, on June 15 veteran rocker Sir Paul McCartney enlisted the support of major celebrities to raise awareness of meat eating’s environmental impact.

Meat Free Mondays is a new United Kingdom based initiative that widens the path laid by the yearly animal-friendly day, meat-out day and expands on the existing Meatless Monday campaign.

Supporters include artist Yoko Ono, musician Sheryl Crow, actor Woody Harrelson, entrepreneur Sir Richard Branson and ex-supermodel and actress Joanna Lumley among others.

Hindus, represented by President of the Universal Society of Hinduism Rajan Zed, have also chosen to support Meat Free Mondays. Hinduism promotes vegetarianism, covered by the ‘ahimsa’ ideal of non-violence.

Chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Rajendra Pachauri also supports the day, having previously called for people to shun meat once a week and lessen it from there. “You will be healthier and so will the planet” he has said.

Global lifestyle company Puma has also joined the campaign to support Meat Free Mondays. Pumavision, the company’s ethical and corporate responsibility arm will ask each of Puma’s 10,000 employees to refrain from eating meat on Mondays, a strategy that includes banishing meat from the headquarters’ canteen on the day, which is spreading to other Puma canteens as well.

It will be hard to tell how many people choose to ditch meat for a day as a result of Sir McCartney and friends’ campaign. Numbers will be lost in the increasing global trend for less meat as awareness of the benefits of plant-based diets become more widely known.