Because China is at the center of an international protest over the ongoing Yulin Dog-Meat Festival, the message of former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to Chinese diners is timely.
The “Terminator” star is the feature in a video made by WildAid, an advocacy group, to convince Chinese to reduce their consumption of meat, not just K-9 meat. WildAid partnered with the Chinese Nutrition Society to wage the meat reduction campaign in the Asian giant.
In the video, James Cameron, the filmmaker behind “Titanic” joins the former bodybuilder in convincing people to consume less of meat because of the link of meat-eating habits with climate change. Cameron, who has been a vegan for a long time, asks in the video, “How can I call myself an environmentalist when I’m contributing to environmental degradation by what I eat,” NPR quotes Cameron.
The two, who are making several videos to promote the campaign, join Chinese officials in warning locals to eat less meat to prevent heart ailments, diabetes and other diseases related to their diet. When China’s economy grew, meat consumption went up. By 2011, meat made up 691 calories of the average Chinese diet, up from 125 calories in 1971. From 2003 through 2013, meat consumption in China increased by 25 percent, according to a 2015 report by PricewaterhouseCoopers, reported Takepart.
Another report in 2014 from the U.S. Department of Agriculture said that half of the global consumption and production of pork is in China. As a result, the Organsation for Economic Co-operation and Development pointed out that pork consumption per capita is now higher in China than in the U.S.
Besides the video campaign, WildAid, with its media partners such as CCTV and Xinhua News Agency, is working to make the commercial widespread. The organization would also place campaign billboards in all provinces and autonomous regions of China.