BBC admits meat programme failed impartiality test
While it might have taken over ten months to ‘ fess up, the BBC this week admitted that its controversial Meat: A Threat To Our Planet documentary failed to give a true and impartial view of livestock farming in the UK.
The BBC upheld the complaint which was made by the NFU about the programme which was broadcast in November of last year.
“It was clear when the programme was broadcast that it fell short of the BBC’S guidelines concerning impartiality. We believed at the time that the programme was created to push a specific viewpoint,” said NFU director of communications Fran Barnes.
“It has also been incredibly frustrating that it has taken ten months for the BBC to acknowledge this and to apologise, and that we have had to escalate this complaint to Ofcom in the absence of a timely response from the BBC. “
English NFU President Minette Batters said that the programme had made no attempt to differentiate between the grass- based systems used f or cattle in the UK and the intensive feedlot style systems used in other countries
which were shown on the programme: “British farmers are rightly proud of the work they do to rear quality live stock and care for the environment, and they were angry and hurt by the false impression of UK l ivestock f arming t he programme created for the viewer at home.”
She said t hat Britain had some of the most climate and welfare friendly systems of food production in the world, with emissions from UK beef production which were half that of the global average.
Having backed t he complaint, NFU S cotland s ai d that while the union enjoyed an excellent working relationship with the BBC, with programmes such as Landward, This Farming Life and The Mart giving a fair view of Scottish farming’s sustainable and welfare friendly production methods, Meat: A Threat To Our Planet had failed to do this.
Elsewhere, while the UK Government failed to give legislative backing to their promises to protect the country’s high welfare production standards earlier this week, scientists warned that the UK was in danger of slipping behind other nations in leading on the issue.
At an online seminar hosted by Edinburgh University’s Global Academy of Agriculture and Food Security, scientists warned that a shared UK position on higher animal health and welfare standards was needed to deliver greater clarity and global leadership on the issue.
Chairman, Lord Curry of Kirkharle warned that new legislation introduced in several Scandinavian countries was giving them a lead on both health and welfare issues: “The current global position of the UK on animal health, welfare and productivity has slipped behind other countries. Yet all three are critical for the industry to compete.”
Edinburgh University’s Professor Geoff Si mm said the UK needed to be more proactive, progressive and adaptable: “It’s important for the science, vet and farming communities across all four nations to come together on this – and devise action plans t hat can raise UK- wide standards of endemic disease control.”