Veganism quarrel breaks-out after Joaquin Phoenix is told to be kinder to UK farmers
National Farmers Union (NFU) president claims that celebrity campaigners for Veganism are demonizing the UK’s meat producers and doing 'enormous damage' to their well-being.
LISA O’CARROLL: ‘He has been called a diva and pretentious, and there are even those who don’t like his acting – but never before has Joaquin Phoenix been accused of causing mental health problems for British livestock farmers. The National Farmers’ Union (NFU) president, Minette Batters, changed all that, opening a new front against the US actor by claiming that he and other celebrity campaigners for veganism had played a part in demonising the UK’s meat producers and doing “enormous damage” to their wellbeing.
Days after the Joker actor’s Oscars speech attacking the meat industry, Batters said farmers fearing the imminent loss of their livelihoods and family holdings were in a state of stress and anxiety. Asked at the union’s annual conference who she thought was driving the view that meat was bad and plants were good, she said: “A lot of people who seem to hit the red carpet at the Bafta awards.” She added: “Celebrities have to be careful [because] there are real-life consequences for others… Joaquin Phoenix, he’s had a really challenging life, and you really feel for him and a lot of the things he was saying, but he has to remember there are people at the end of this, there are small family farms and they get hurt too.”
Her comments were immediately criticised by vegan and animal rights groups, who accused Batters of making claims without evidence and ignoring the ethical problems posed by meat production. “Veganism is something of an easy target at the moment and I’m not sure that we are the cause of farmer’s problems,” said a spokesperson for the Vegan Society. “There are many causes of mental health issues and stress in farming and I haven’t seen evidence, a piece of research, showing that veganism is one of them.”
Phoenix, who has been a vegan since he was three, made a plea for tolerance and equality in his acceptance speech for the best actor award at the Oscars… “I think we’ve become very disconnected from the natural world,” he said. “We go into the natural world and we plunder it for its resources. We feel entitled to artificially inseminate a cow and steal her baby, even though her cries of anguish are unmistakeable. Then we take her milk that’s intended for her calf and we put it in our coffee and our cereal.” Veganism continues to grow in popularity in the UK, with supermarkets clearing shelf space for plant-based ready meals, and meat-free dining in restaurants and pubs now commonplace’. SOURCE…
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