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Paul McCartney has urged India to declare a national Vegetarian Day to celebrate meat-free living and compassion toward animals.
He wrote to Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh saying the move could save animals while helping to protect both the environment and people's health.
The letter said "it would be a celebration of life."
The UN food agency in 2003 estimated 42 per cent of India's 1.2 billion people were vegetarian, due mostly to financial and religious concerns. Strict Hindus and Jains do not eat meat.
