Philippine Tatler – August 2019

Asa child,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.Today,thatfigurehasrisentoabout 14 per

cent—thanksinnosmallparttotheactivismandwork

oftheMcCartneys.“Mymumanddadwouldchallenge

eachotherandsay,‘Whatarewegoingtocooktofillthat

gapinthecentreoftheplatewherethemeatwas?’”Mary

recalls.In1991,Lindasolvedthatpuzzlebyestablishing

LindaMcCartneyFoods,whichproducespreparedmeals,

includingvegetariansausages,burgers,meatballs,andpies.

Thebrandwasanimmediatesuccessandby 1995 Linda

andPaulweresocloselyassociatedwiththevegetarian

movementthattheyhadguestrolesonseasonsevenofThe

Simpsons(ep.5:“LisatheVegetarian”).

ThesameyearasthatSimpsonsepisode,Lindawas

diagnosedwithbreastcancer.Threeyearslater,in1998,

shediedattheageof56,leavingbehindfourchildrenand

herflourishingfoodcompany.Mary,hersiblingsandher

fatherknewtherewasonlyonethingtheycoulddo.“We

madethedecisiontocarrythecompanyon,”saysMary.

“Themainaimwasalwaystoprovideaffordablemeat-

freemealsolutionstopeople,andtheneedforthathadn’t

goneaway.”

Maryplayedakeyroleinthecompanyfromthe

beginning.“I’dworkedwithmumonhercookbooksand

thefoodrangefromveryearlyon,”shesays.“Whenshe

waswritinghercookbooksI’dhelpeditthem;I’dhelptest

therecipes;we’dbrainstormideastogether.Andwiththe

company,Iwasatthelauncheventand,daytoday,Ihad

contactwiththepeopleworkingonit.I’dgotothefactory

andhelpwithproductdevelopment.”

ThebrandisnowownedbyUSfoodgiantHainCelestial

Group,buttheMcCartneysremainheavilyinvolved.“We

stillworkonnewproductdevelopment,branding,social

media,brainstormingideas,”Marysays.“Idirectedthe

LindaMcCartneyFoodsad‘It’sCooltobeKind’atthe

beginningofJanuaryatHackneyCityFarminLondon.”

WiththeMcCartneys’guidance,itremainsoneofthemost

successfulmeat-substitutebrandsintheworld,withannual

salesof£26.7million(roughlyUS$33.57million).

Maryisnowusingtheknowledgeandskillsshe’s

developedovertheyearswithLindaMcCartneyFoods

toguideanothermeat-substitutecompany.InMarchthis

yearitwasannouncedthatMaryhadinvestedinGreen

Monday,theHongKong-basedsocialenterprisefounded

byDavidYeung—thecompanydevelopedOmnipork,the

world’sfirstplant-basedreplacementformincedpork.She

isalsoadvisingGreenMondayonmultipleaspectsofits

business,whichcurrentlyincludeGreenCommon,achain

ofplant-basedsupermarkets;RightTreat,theoverarching

brandbehindOmnipork;andtheGreenMondayRestaurant

Programme,whichsupportsrestaurantsofferingveggie-

friendlymenus.

“IwasintroducedtoDavidacoupleofyearsagoby

amutualfriendofourswhothoughtwe’dhavealotin

common,”explainsMary.“Andshewasright—we’revery

like-minded.Sowestayedintouchandwouldsendeach

otherarticlesandupdates,thenIsaidtoDavid,‘I’dreally

liketobeaspokespersonandhelpspreadthemessage.’”

GreenMondaywasanaturalpartnerforMary,who—along

withherfatherandsister,Stella—hasbeenafaceofthe

MeatFreeMondaymovementintheUK.

Amazingly,Mary’sworkwithbothLindaMcCartney

FoodsandGreenMondayaremerelysideprojects;like

hermother,she’sanacclaimedphotographer.Knownfor

havingaparticulartalentforportraits,Maryhascaptured

everyonefromQueenElizabethIItoRihannaandOrlando

Bloomformagazines,newspapers,andherowncoffee

tablebooks,suchasherrecentreleasesTheWhiteHorse

andParisNude.

“I’vealwaysworkedonmyvegetarianandveganfood

projectsandphotographyseparately,butInowwantto

marrythemtogether,”saysMary.“SoI’mnowworking

onanewbook;it’scalledCookingForArtists.Icomeup

witharecipeandIcookitandtakeittoanartistintheir

studioandwesitandeattogether,thenItakeaphotoof

themandwritedowntherecipeandananecdotefromthe

dayforthebook.I’veprobablydonehalfadozenartists

sofar—SirPeterBlake,DavidHockney,CindySherman—

someamazingtalents.”

ThatprojectistakingMaryaroundtheUSandtheUK,and

soon,shehopes,herworkwithGreenMondaywillbring

herbacktoAsia.“I’veneverreallyspentmuchtimeinthis

partoftheworld,soit’sagreatexcusetocomehereand

explore.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

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life / Health

92 philippine tatler. august 2019