Standing up to anti-farming voices in the media

It may just be me but I get the feeling that there are more questions being asked of vegan advocates this year than in past 'veganuaries', not least when a supposedly ethical diet requires food grown in an environmentally questionable manner and flown around the globe. Hypocrisy is the most reputationally damaging of traits and increasingly the preachers, who seldom examine the ethics of their own diet choices, are being called out. Rightly so.

For clarity I have no issue with those who positively advocate veganism, it is the denigration of other diets and especially meat eating that rankles. The increasingly extreme journalist and activist George Monbiot is now not even happy just attacking livestock farming, but wants to end arable production and horticulture too. We are all going to have to eat factory produced bacterial goo according to his latest column and documentary, or else the world will explode. One of the problems of this sort of hyperbole is that it can distract us from taking the reasonable and practical actions we should make like sourcing local, seasonal meat and vegetables, or eating more of what we shoot. We should not be diverted, however, because buying quality local food is not just a treat for the palate it is also an investment in the countryside.

What is not helpful for the countryside is the glorification of illegal anti-farming activism and Channel 4 at the very least came close to this in its documentary 'How to steal a pig' on Tuesday. Many farmers were understandably upset by the showcasing of blatant criminal activity on the programme and it was interesting that Mitsubishi, which sponsors Channel 4's documentaries, distanced itself from the programme even before it was aired. Given the number of its cars and pick-ups that are parked in front of farmhouses that would seem a sensible decision.

While the documentary aired, Cheshire Police were quick to point out that stealing livestock was a crime and that by committing criminal acts on farms for kudos on social media, 'vegan influencers' were threatening biosecurity. This could well result in livestock being destroyed.

The Countryside Alliance welcomes the move by the National Rural Crime Network, to ask Ofcom to look into whether Channel 4 has breached Rule 3.1 of the Broadcasting Code, by broadcasting material likely to encourage or incite the commission of crime or to lead to disorder.

A contrasting good news food story is the charity Country Food Trust (CFT) which produces wonderful ready-made meals using pheasants and partridges which are supplied to food banks across the country. The CFT has just supplied its 500,000 meal and is keen to feed more people in food poverty with nourishing game meals through the winter.

As I know you will all have already bought your tickets for our gun draw you might now want to consider supporting the CFT's Winter Appeal. It will certainly be money better and more ethically spent than a pint of almond 'milk' and a smashed avocado!