Pope Francis urged to go vegan for Lent

Arianwen Parkes-Lockwood has thrown her support behind a campaign to get Pope Francis to go vegan for Lent.

Australian actress Arianwen Parkes-Lockwood has thrown her support behind a campaign to get Pope Francis to go vegan for Lent.

An American 12-year-old girl, Genesis Butler, has penned a ­letter urging the Pope to give up all animal and dairy products in a bid to stop the meat industry’s ­impact on climate change.

“Your Holiness, we must act. Moving towards a plant-based diet will have substantial environmental impacts,” Genesis’s ­letter read.

Known for her role on A Place to Call Home, Parkes-Lockwood has joined the pledge to donate $1 million to charity if the Pope heeds Genesis’s advice, and goes vegan over Lent.

“I just think it is a really wonderful initiative that has the power to impact a lot of people,” said Parkes-Lockwood, a vegan for almost seven years.

Parkes-Lockwood is not ­religious, but she said the Pope “is a pretty popular guy and if he makes a statement to the effect we need to change our diet ... that could have a massive influence”.