Sheila Dillon with an exclusive food interview with former Beatle Sir Paul McCartney. More than thirty years since becoming a vegetarian he reflects on his life through food.

He describes his early life in the terraced council house, 20 Forthlin Road, now owned by the National Trust and where the McCartney kitchen, circa 1955, has been restored. Paul McCartney recalls meals of pork chops, liver and tongue , the latter proving to be one of the biggest food challenges of his childhood.

He recounts stories on the road with The Beatles and seeing huge steaks drooping over the plate on their American tour, and then the 1960 trip to India and facing a strict vegetarian diet. Several years later, after spending time on his farm, and influenced by his wife Linda, he stopped eating meat.

So how, from a personal decision based on compassion for animals, did he decide to shift to a more political and campaigning stance on food and farming? Sheila Dillon finds out how he took a fame based on the stage, into arenas like the European Parliament and The White House.

Producer: Dan Saladino.

Food in the life of Sir Paul McCartney 27:20 Share

The Food Programme

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Food in the life of Sir Paul McCartney