Meat-eaters should be targeted with public campaigns in the same way as smokers, according to Labour’s new shadow environment secretary.
Vegan Kerry McCarthy, who is vice-president of the League Against Cruel Sports, has been branded “cranky” and “completely out of step” with the majority of people over the remark.
In an interview with a vegan lifestyle magazine, she also said the “constant challenging” of the environmental impact of livestock farming was making her “more and more militant”.
“Not least that Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) payments are available for grouse shooting, controlling buzzards and forestry,” she added.
The Bristol East MP, who made the comments earlier this year before being appointed to her new role, said progress was being made on animal welfare at the EU level, but added that it comes down to not eating meat or dairy.
“I really believe that meat should be treated in exactly the same way as tobacco with public campaigns to stop people eating it,” she continued.
In the wake of her appointment, the chief executive of NFU Scotland Scott Walker said her being a vegan would be “no barrier” to her engaging with the industry.
But after the latest revelation, Countryside Alliance chief executive Tim Bonner said her presence on Jeremy Corbyn’s frontbench would make it more difficult for Labour to reconnect with rural Britain.
He added: “Kerry McCarthy’s views on meat eating and livestock farming are completely out of step with the vast majority of people. Her ideas are verging on the cranky.”
In a statement written for her blog after accepting the shadow role, Ms McCarthy, who replaced Maria Eagle, said her being a vegan would not affect Labour policy in relation to the farming industry.
But she added: “I am of course keen to see farmers adopt the highest welfare standards, and keen to develop policies which promote a move away from intensive, industrialised farming.”
Ms McCarthy, who is also a patron of the Vegan Society, has repeatedly voted against badger culls to control bovine TB and campaigned against the overuse of antibiotics in agriculture. She also argues livestock farming contributes to world hunger by using crops as animal feed and has criticised the sector’s water footprint.