Retired doctor and pastor to embark on hunger strike for climate action

Dr Scott Bell and Pastor Jeff McKinnon, who are active in the local chapter of Extinction Rebellion, will be starting their strike next weekend in Launceston before travelling to politicians' offices around the state with their message.

Both Dr Bell and Pastor McKinnon have been arrested over a dozen times along with other Extinction Rebellion protestors who've participated in blocked streets, bank blockades and sit-ins at politicians' offices.

"This hunger strike is just a logical progression from the previous actions that we've held," Dr Bell said.

He said the two were "willing to make a personal sacrifice to challenge our politicians to make better policy".

"We are faced with a global disaster," Dr Bell said.

"We're having more adverse weather effects. We're having disruption of society and communities. We're having disruption of supply chains. People globally are becoming more desperate.

"The environment is being destroyed. We're losing biodiversity. We're losing species. We can't afford to keep going the way we're going. We can't allow the fossil fuel industry to dictate the future of this planet."

Hunger fasts have been used as a form of protest throughout history with famous examples including the suffragettes agitating for the women's vote and Mahatma Gandhi's hunger fasts during India's freedom movement.

More recently, former Australian ambassador Gregory Andrews fasted outside Parliament House in Canberra, calling on the government to stop subsidising fossil fuels among other environmental issues.

Andrews was eventually taken to hospital, losing 10 kilograms and experiencing chest pains and shortness of breath after 16 days of fasting.

Pastor Jeff McKinnon went on a hunger strike for climate action in 2021.

Dr Bell said their actions weren't inspired by any particular individual but rather "a way of demonstrating that we're willing to take the personal risk on behalf of society, and on behalf of our moral and ethical beliefs".

As a former GP, Dr Bell knows better than anyone what hunger does to the body.

"Your body's going to first of all turn to the immediate energy stores which are in the liver called glycogen," he said.

"Then they're going to turn to the fat that's stored in your body and preferentially use that.

"And last but not least, it starts breaking down your muscle."

Although both they and their families are worried about the risks, Dr Bell is also trying to approach the strike with a sense of humour.

"I'm trying to fatten myself up a bit," he said.

"I love my food. I'm going to miss everything."