Long-term supporters of PETA's work--Paul and Linda McCartney were the cover stars of PETA's first mainstream catalog

"Linda's got a new cookbook called Linda McCartney on Tour (click on the image above to order). It's full of recipes from around the world and I know people will love it. Like all of Linda's cookbooks, it's easy to cook from." --Paul

PETA: Linda was a great activist and friend to animals. What else would you like people to know about her?

Paul McCartney: Everyone felt comfortable with Linda and it was because of her kindness. She was just so cool and funny! I worried that, since Linda was such a private person, people wouldn’t understand her. But from the crates of letters I got, I know people did. They loved her! She didn’t like to do anything unless it meant something. She started her line of vegetarian foods when she realized she could save animals. That’s why we’re so into what you guys do. I love everything you do, especially the title. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals—I don’t see how anyone could have a problem with that.

I could go on for hours about Linda. I’m grieving, but I say to the kids, “we have to look at the blessings and replace all these sad memories with good ones.” I think the best idea—going vegetarian—is staring us right in the face. And, if it’s true, all this that we believe, then I think it’s very beautiful where Linda was poised at the end of this century. It’s a very beautiful fact that she did it all; she led us and we’re ready now. It’s typical of Linda that she’s set it all up for us.

We’re going to be keeping all of Linda’s campaigns going. We’ll keep up her good work. We’ll do the cookbooks, we’ll do the veggie food, we’ll do the campaigns. We are going to keep this torch burning.

PETA: After Linda died, you suggested that people could honor her by becoming vegetarian.

PM: I suggested that people donate to a cancer charity or an animal welfare group—or the best tribute—go veggie. Unfortunately, it was a little too general. I know PETA has done good work in pointing out the charities that don’t experiment on animals, and I want to be clear: I’m totally against using animals. I saw a program the night of Linda’s memorial in New York. It showed dogs and cats dragging themselves around because their spines had been severed. The commentator said, “These animals are quadrupeds and we’re bipeds, so we’re not going to learn anything from them because we’re so different.” It was so horrifying. It doesn’t make any sense. The medical argument doesn’t stand up.

Even if it did, I don’t think we should kill other species. We think we’re so much better; I’m not sure we are. I tell people, “We’ve beaten into submission every animal on the face of the Earth, so we are the clear winners of whatever battle is going on between the species. Couldn’t we be generous?” I really do think it’s time to get nice. No need to keep beating up on them. I think we’ve got to show that we’re kind.

PETA: You have always been concerned about animals, haven’t you? When did you and Linda discover that you shared this passion for making a difference?

PM: Yes, my awareness of animals goes way back. When I was growing up in Liverpool, we had national service, so I was due to go into the Army. I was dreading it. I knew all these macho guys who’d come back and say, “It’ll make a man of you.” But I kept thinking, “I can’t kill anyone.” I realized I’d have to learn to kill. So I actually used to go into the woods and kill frogs—I horrified Linda with this story. But I figured if I couldn’t kill a frog, how was I ever going to bayonet a man? When I realized I was mistreating animals, I suddenly asked, “What am I doing?” That was a turning point. And I made a decision one day in the woods: National service or no, I’m stopping this. I saw what lunacy it was, and I apologize to all the frogs.

Later, when I was with the Beatles, I had this lovely dog called Martha. I wrote a song for her, “Martha My Dear.” John Lennon was actually quite amused at seeing a different me when I was with the dog and she was climbing all over me.

The truth is, I always loved animals, but I was frightened of loving them too much. I was like the farmer’s kids. They get to know old Daisy, the cow, and then one day the farmer says, “Well, she’s got to go to market.” The kids break down, but they’re told, “We have to do it. It’s a fact of life.” I feel so sorry for them, and for the farmers, because they’re in denial about what’s really happening. I think Linda liberated me. We liberated each other.

Over the years I had the luxury of Linda taking the front role in our work to help animals. But we were always working together. We were both 100 percent committed.

PETA: And then you raised your children to understand that animals have feelings.

PM: We didn’t force them. We just gave them an education. We pointed out why we stopped eating meat. We said, “It’s a real chicken with a face and a heart.” Heather was 6 and used to a meat diet, but Mary was very little and change was easy. Stella and James were born to be veggie. They are compassionate kids who care about life and they’re all veggie now. James is a vegan. Once Stella came home and said, “They had a discussion in school today about factory farming.

I really had a clear conscience!” Linda and I looked at each other and said, “What a beautiful thing to give your kid—a clear conscience.” I remember that as clearly as if it were yesterday.

PETA: You’ve spoken about how you watched lambs gamboling in a field and realized you couldn’t eat them anymore. Was that the turning point?

PM: It was one of them. Another came early in our relationship when I was fishing and I caught one. I realized I was killing it as I reeled it in, and I thought, “I’m taking his life—I don’t want to do that.” So we threw him back. That was the end of fish. We still ate caviar for a while because we thought nobody got hurt; we thought someone “milked” the fish for her eggs. Then we found out that the mother sturgeon gets slit from top to bottom and the eggs fall out. That stopped caviar.

Another turning point was when we were driving behind a lorry loaded with chickens—five or six tiers of little chickens with all their feathers sticking out. We thought they were so cute and Linda took some pictures. Then it turned off into a big factory called Super Chick and we suddenly realized what was going to happen. That really got to us.

Strangely enough, four months ago, we were driving back from London and we came to a place where we knew there was a slaughterhouse. There was a truck with four tiers of sheep. We knew exactly where they were going; we knew that turnoff. And it broke our hearts, especially with all the stuff she was going through. We knew those sheep wouldn’t see morning. We shed a few tears and kept driving. I said, “It’s okay, Darling, we’ve got to try and not let this affect us too much. We’ll just carry on with our work. It’s all we can do.”

PETA: So your commitment has only been strengthened over the years.

PM: That’s right. I have no regrets. I don’t miss any meat dishes whatsoever. I do miss the smell of bacon, but I wouldn’t touch it because I know where it comes from. When I see bacon, I see a pig, I see a little friend, and that’s why I can’t eat it. Simple as that. But I’ll eat Linda’s veggie bacon. All her food was so good. Steve Martin came around for a barbecue once. I was grilling and he said, “Oh, no, I can’t have any of that.” I asked why not and he said, “Sorry, I’m vegetarian.” I said, “You didn’t know we are?! Everything on the grill is veggie!” He said, “Ahhh” and ate three veggie burgers and then asked where he could buy them.

I think the future will find that even McDonald’s will go veggie because I know it’s going to be more economical for them. They won’t have to pay all these farmers to grow these animals, to transport them to the slaughterhouse. That’ll be a happy time!

PETA: It would be better for our health and for the planet, too.

PM: If anyone wants to save the planet, all they have to do is just stop eating meat. That’s the single most important thing you could do. It’s staggering when you think about it. Vegetarianism takes care of so many things in one shot: ecology, famine, cruelty. And it’s a spiritual thing for yourself. Let’s do it! Linda was right. Going veggie is the single best new idea for the new century.

PETA: What would you say to compassionate people following your and Linda’s example?

PM: Sometimes it seems like a long, hard struggle. I really can see how anyone with a heart and brain can be overwhelmed with despair. I think all of us say, “How did I get into this? I didn’t want to know!” But the light bulb has gone on in our heads and we can’t switch it off. We are clearly on the right track. I think what you have to do is take a deep breath and count your blessings. Find a blessing to lift your spirits. They’re there. Now more than ever. Billions of animals are slaughtered thoughtlessly every year. Desperate thought. Push it to one side, because now there are more vegetarians than ever; there are societies like PETA you can join; there are like-minded people you can talk to. There’s a lot of hope now.