Farming’s tough and vegans are sticking the knife in
Farmers say they feel under attack
From meat-free steak bakes in Greggs to the month of January being devoted to veganism, there’s no doubt there’s a revolution in our eating habits under way.
Restaurants are going out of their way to accommodate customers with plant-based dishes, while celebrities can’t wait to showcase their vegan credentials.
The plant-based food market is now worth more than £740million in the UK, with 600,000 people reported as vegans and 400,000 taking part in the Veganuary craze.
For Scotland’s farming industry, though, it’s a very different story.
Farming leaders say they feel under attack, as eco-campaigners call for a huge drop in meat eating to help fight climate change, claiming livestock emissions are a massive factor in damaging the environment.
National Farmers Union of Scotland (NFUS) president Andrew McCornick said farmers could be driven out of the business.
He said: “It’s the morale that’s the biggest impact. I’m not seeing a significant change in meat consumption despite all the noise around it but it’s the feeling that we’re being constantly attacked for something we’re not doing wrong.
“Some of the argument we genuinely believe is flawed.
“We are able to produce a nutrientdense protein which is healthy and part of a nutritious diet. Scotland is 85 per cent lessfavoured area, which means we can only grow grass or rough material
– we can’t grow the vegetables that the vegan lobby are claiming.
“We use the livestock to harvest that into edible protein and it has essential mineral elements that we can’t get from vegetables, particularly iron.
“And if you look at what they are replacing meat with, it’s products coming from abroad which don’t have the same environmental credentials and are doing all the food miles as well as coming from countries with a water deficit.” Dumfriesshire-based Andrew, whose family has farmed beef and sheep for generations, said their products were still popular. But with market prices being crunched, years of Brexit uncertainty and now pressure from meat-free campaigners, he said many of his fellow farmers may consider their options.
He added: “Ninety per cent of households are regularly buying meat products and 98 per cent are buying dairy products. We have a strong defence but I don’t think the story is being portrayed – all the noise is with the Veganuary story.
“I respect what they are saying but it’s not the whole story. If you are taking avocadoes from Israel and California, what are the food miles involved in that?
“I think people are questioning if it’s worth going on if we keep being attacked.”
Ayrshire dairy farmer John Kerr, 38, agreed – and said he and local colleagues had begun fighting back by taking the story to the public.
He added: “A lot of people are very, very down and despondent about the way the industry is portrayed and the way it keeps getting attacked from all angles.
“I know of a few farms coming on the market and there are folk who have had enough and are getting out.
“I don’t think there is one simple solution but one thing we’ve done locally is at our local cattle show we ran a marquee simply dedicated to public engagement on farming and the practicalities of it, and it went down very well.
“It was great to see people enthused when we got the chance to put our message across. We have to start a conversation.”
NFUS vice-president Martin Kennedy, a livestock farmer based near Aberfeldy in Perthshire, backed Scots farmers to survive the trends.
He said: “Scottish farmers are pretty resilient but we find it frustrating and it gets people down because you’re getting a kicking from a very noisy minority.
“What we would ask vegans to do is to make sure you’re eating local vegetables.
“One of the ironic things I think about it (Veganuary) is if you’re going to pick a month just to eat vegetables, why would it be January, when you’ve got to import most of them?
“We have fantastic fruit and vegetables which we grow ourselves seasonally.”