Heather Mills is perhaps one of the most controversial members of the Vegetarian Celebrity Club. In the past few years, Mills has found herself in a media storm surrounding both her personal and professional life.

Her name is synonymous with the highly publicised divorce from Sir Paul McCartney in 2008, and her courtroom antics during the divorce hearing drew much unwanted attention to her and caused headlines around the world. Rumours started to surface during the hearings of her less than desirable past that included the scandalous story of her once being an escort. To this day Mills has firmly denied that these rumours have any shred of truth in them.

But let’s not forget the good that she has done. She is a strong supporter of veganism, the banning of landmines, animal rights and aid for amputees. She has her own charity (Heather Mills Health Trust) that helps recycles discarded prosthetic limbs. She is a patron of Viva (Vegetarian’s International Voice for Animals), Vegetarian and Vegan Foundation.

Mills was in Hunts Point in New York City to help open a new space, HPAC-VBITES Learning Café, for the Hunts Point Alliance for Children (HPAC) in early October 2009. The newly renovated office will serve as a community gathering space and centre to help distribute the VBites donated food products. Mills donated $1 million in food products to poorer areas of the Bronx and the United States in September 2008.

VBites was set up by Mills as a way to show people that vegan food is just as tasty as non-vegan meals. VBites meals are free from dairy and meat. By reducing meat consumption and cutting down on dairy you will help the environment and improve your health.

The UN studies have shown that meat consumption leads to pollution, water scarcity, land degradation and climate change. As the demand for meat grows, so does the need for pasture and cropland making deforestation an additional concern (reference?). That steak you’re eating comes from a cow that emits methane and greenhouse gases through excrement and belching. It’s so serious that the New Zealand government wanted to put a tax onto methane in 2003, which caused a huge uproar by farmers claiming that they would unfairly targeted for a natural body process of cows.

In terms of being better for your health, a person who follows a vegan diet tends to have a lower body mass index, lower levels of saturated fat, cholesterol, and higher levels of carbohydrates, fibre, magnesium, potassium, folate, and antioxidants, such as vitamins C and E, and phytochemicals.

So it’s not every day that I would suggest following Heather Mills’ example but I believe she is a good role model – living, breathing and promoting the vegan lifestyle.