Farmers Weekly puts challenge to anti-meat Defra shadow

Farmers on social media have reacted with dismay to the appointment of Kerry McCarthy as the Labour spokesman on farming, environment and rural affairs.

Farmers Weekly is responding to this with a challenge to Ms McCarthy – come and meet some real farmers.

Looking at her track record, you can see why farmers are angry.

Ms McCarthy is a passionate vegan who, judging by previous statements, believes that the livestock industry is dirty and cruel, that most farm animals are kept in dark, filthy sheds, that consumption of meat, eggs and dairy products has contributed to skyrocketing healthcare costs and that dairy farmers artificially force unnatural amounts of milk from cows.

Karl Schneider 
Editor
Farmers Weekly

If Ms McCarthy continues to spout these ill-informed views in her new role, her appointment is very bad news for farmers and she deserves our disdain.

See also: 14 quotes from shadow Defra secretary Kerry McCarthy

But it would be a mistake to respond simply with a barrage of abuse.

Ms McCarthy has never lived in the countryside and, like most city-dwellers, has had little direct experience of farming in the UK. Her views will have been shaped by those of the people around her.

Before we write her off, we should make a real effort to show her that her skewed, negative image of farming is a million miles away from the reality of 21st-century farming in the UK.

In three weeks’ time Farmers Weekly will be celebrating the cream of British farming, at the 2015 Farmers Weekly Awards.

The winners of these awards reflect all that is best in our industry, showcasing the highest welfare standards and the most sustainable production methods.

So Farmers Weekly is making an offer to Ms McCarthy. Let us introduce you to some of the UK’s premier farmers.

Come and see for yourself the great work that they do and the efforts that they go to in order to put food on our tables in a way that is humane, sustainable and cost-effective.

We believe that, if you take up our offer and come with an open mind, we can persuade you to change it.

Karl Schneider
Editor