THIS summer take the Veg Pledge — simply go meat and fish free for seven days and donate the money saved to the charity Beating Bowel Cancer.

To make it even easier, the charity has developed an online calculator which you can use to work out how much money you will save, based on your average weekly meat consumption and where you shop.

Mark Flannagan, chief executive of Beating Bowel Cancer, said: “Bowel cancer is the UK’s second biggest cancer killer and someone is diagnosed every 15 minutes. Yet if diagnosed early, more than 90% of cases can be treated successfully.

“There are some risks for bowel cancer that you can’t change, such as your age and family history. However there are a number of factors known to increase your risk. You can reduce your risk by cutting down on red meat and processed food, exercising, quitting smoking and reducing your alcohol intake.”

The Veg Pledge will run throughout the summer and Beating Bowel Cancer is encouraging those who are up for the challenge to visit www.beatingbowelcancer.org to calculate their meat and fish savings on the Veg Pledge calculator.