2019-08-01_Hong_Kong_Tatler

96 h o n g k o n g tat l e r. a u g u s t 2 0 1 9

Asachild,Maryknewherfamilywasdifferent—and

notjustbecauseherfather,Paul,wasaBeatleandher

mother,Linda,wasafamousphotographer.No,little

MaryMcCartney’sfamilywasdifferentbecausethey

were...vegetarians.

“WhenIwasveryyoung,mymumanddadsatusdown

andsaidtous,‘We’vemadeadecisionthatwe’regoingto

becomevegetarian.It’syourdecisionifyouwanttoeat

meatwhenyou’reout,butwewon’tbecookingmeatin

thehouse,’”shetellsTatler.Andwhilethatmightnotseem

likeacontroversialdecisionnow,thiswasthe1970s,when

fewerthan0.5percentofpeopleintheUKabstained

frommeat.Todaythatfigurehasrisentoabout 14 per

cent—thanksinnosmallparttotheactivismandwork

oftheMcCartneys.“Mymumanddadwouldchallenge

eachotherandsay,‘Whatarewegoingtocooktofillthat

gapinthecentreoftheplatewherethemeatwas?’”Mary

recalls.In 1991 Lindasolvedthatpuzzlebyestablishing

LindaMcCartneyFoods,whichproducespreparedmeals,

includingvegetariansausages,burgers,meatballsandpies.

Thebrandwasanimmediatesuccessandby 1995 Linda

andPaulweresocloselyassociatedwiththevegetarian

movementthattheyhadguestrolesonseasonsevenofThe

Simpsons(ep.5:LisatheVegetarian).

ThesameyearasthatSimpsonsepisode,Lindawas

diagnosedwithbreastcancer.Threeyearslater,in1998,she

diedattheageof56,leavingbehindfourchildrenandher

flourishingfoodcompany.Mary,hersiblingsandherfather

knewtherewasonlyonethingtheycoulddo.“Wemade

thedecisiontocarrythecompanyon,”saysMary.“The

mainaimwasalwaystoprovideaffordablemeat-freemeal

solutionstopeople,andtheneedforthathadn’tgoneaway.”

Maryplayedakeyroleinthecompanyfromthe

beginning.“I’dworkedwithmumonhercookbooksand

thefoodrangefromveryearlyon,”shesays.“Whenshe

waswritinghercookbooksI’dhelpeditthem;I’dhelptest

therecipes;we’dbrainstormideastogether.Andwiththe

company,Iwasatthelaunchevent and, day to day, I had

contactwiththepeopleworking on it. I’d go to the factory

andhelpwithproductdevelopment.”

ThebrandisnowownedbyUS food giant Hain Celestial

Group,buttheMcCartneysremain heavily involved. “We

stillworkonnewproductdevelopment, branding, social

media,brainstormingideas,”Mary says. “I directed the

LindaMcCartneyFoodsad‘It’sCool to be Kind’ at the

beginningofJanuaryatHackney City Farm in London.”

WiththeMcCartneys’guidance, it remains one of the most

successfulmeat-substitutebrands in the world, with annual

salesof£26.7million(roughlyHK$266 million).

Maryisnowusingtheknowledge and skills she’s

developedovertheyearswithLinda McCartney Foods

toguideanothermeat-substitute company. In March this

yearitwasannouncedthatMary had invested in Green

Monday,theHongKong-basedsocial enterprise founded

byDavidYeung—thecompanydeveloped Omnipork, the

world’sfirstplant-basedreplacement for minced pork. She

isalsoadvisingGreenMondayon multiple aspects of its

business,whichcurrentlyinclude Green Common, a chain

ofplant-basedsupermarkets;Right Treat, the overarching

brandbehindOmnipork;andthe Green Monday Restaurant

Programme,whichsupportsrestaurants offering veggie-

friendlymenus.

“IwasintroducedtoDavida couple of years ago by

amutualfriendofourswhothought we’d have a lot in

common,”explainsMary.“Andshe was right—we’re very

like-minded.Sowestayedintouch and would send each

otherarticlesandupdates,then I said to David, ‘I’d really

liketobeaspokespersonandhelp spread the message.’”

GreenMondaywasanaturalpartner for Mary, who—along

withherfatherandsister,Stella—has been a face of the

MeatFreeMondaymovementin the UK.

Amazingly,Mary’sworkwith both Linda McCartney

FoodsandGreenMondayaremerely side projects; like

hermother,she’sanacclaimedphotographer. Known for

havingaparticulartalentforportraits, Mary has captured

everyonefromQueenElizabeth II to Rihanna and Orlando

Bloomformagazines,newspapers and her own coffee table

books,suchasherrecentreleases The White Horse and

ParisNude.

“I’vealwaysworkedonmyvegetarian and vegan food

projectsandphotographyseparately, but I now want to

marrythemtogether,”saysMary. “So I’m now working

onanewbook;it’scalledCooking For Artists. I come up

witharecipeandIcookitandtake it to an artist in their

studioandwesitandeattogether, then I take a photo of

themandwritedowntherecipe and an anecdote from the

dayforthebook.I’veprobablydone half a dozen artists

sofar—SirPeterBlake,DavidHockney, Cindy Sherman—

someamazingtalents.”

ThatprojectistakingMaryaround the US and the UK,

andsoon,shehopes,herworkwith Green Monday will

bringherbacktoAsia.“I’venever really spent much time

inthispartoftheworld,soit’sa great excuse to come here

andexplore.I’llbeback.”

Photographer Mary McCartney has

long been a passionate advocate of

vegetarianism—and now she’s spreading

the message in Asia

BY OLIVER GILES

We Can

Work it Out

PHOTOGRAPHY: MICHAELA GILES; LOCATION: LANDMARK MANDARIN ORIENTAL