"If somebody wanted to have an immediate impact, they could eat one less meat meal per week," he said.
Shaw is no fool and an alarm bell clearly rang in his head as soon as he said it.
So Shaw quickly added that it wasn't Government policy and it was up to consumers to decide what they did and didn't eat.
Shower heads were emblematic of the "nanny state" accusations levelled at the former Labour Government just before it was voted out in 2008.
It was Shane Jones, then a Labour minister, who had to front a proposal to restrict shower-head flow to help conserve water.
Then in Opposition, the National Party made mincemeat out of it, pardon pun.
It remains a sterling example of the power of one small thing to cause a while pile of trouble and distract from a greater debate.
No matter how firm the science, as a general political rule the Government should stay out of the bedroom, the bathroom and off the kitchen table.
Jones is a meat lover and also now a NZ First MP who has found himself working with the Greens on such matters.
When the Herald rang Jones yesterday to ask where he stood on Shaw's Less Meat proposal, he too thought of those shower heads.
"I hold the invidious position of having tried to sell smaller shower heads to people. It went down like a cup of cold sick.
When we push agendas of change it is important we win not only the science but hearts and minds. So I don't imagine James will be highlighting meat-eaters, omnivores, herbivores or carnivores in his consultation. Take it from me as someone who learned the hard way."
But he did pledge to join up to Shaw's Less Meat campaign.
He said he would be happy to cut out a meat meal but only if he could trade it in for "copious quantities" of seafood and bigeye tuna from the Pacific.
Shaw might want to sit down with him and talk about bigeye tuna and ocean warming due to climate change.
Perhaps over the steak special which is on at Parliament's cafe.
