Vegan Labour MP's rural affairs appointment 'a disaster for farms'
The appointment of a vegan MP as the shadow secretary of state for the environment and rural affairs is a disaster for farmers, it has been claimed.
Henry Yates, a former chairman of Burwarton Show, said if Labour's Kerry McCarthy had her way "farmers can pack up and the nation will starve".
Ms McCarthy, who was picked for the role by new Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn in his shadow cabinet on Monday, has openly criticised the badger cull and claimed the meat, dairy and egg industries cause suffering to animals.
But officials at the NFU have struck a more guarded note, pledging to work with Ms McCarthy and calling on her to back British farming.
Ms McCarthy, a former party whip, is the first vegan appointed to the post. She has insisted she is "happy" working with farmers and insisted she had a long history of working on environmental and agricultural issues.
Mr Yates, who farms near Bridgnorth, said: "Knowing the back end of a dairy cow to the front has rarely been a qualification for the job of running agriculture.
"And surprise, surprise it is Ms Kerry McCarthy, a vegan who has been fierce critic of the badger cull, who says she will be liaising with the farming sector for the Labour Party.
"She has spoken out against the environmental impact of meat production as well as saying the meat, dairy and egg industries 'cause immense suffering to more than a billion animals every year in the UK alone'.
"Clearly if Ms McCarthy has her way farmers can pack up and the nation will starve."
But NFU president Meurig Raymond said the union would welcome her in the role.
He said: "We look forward to working with Kerry McCarthy MP in her new role as shadow Defra Secretary. The NFU will be lobbying across the political spectrum on key issues in the farming sector with BPS payments, the agri-growth strategy and the implementation of the 25-year TB eradication plan being just three of them.
"And we hope to work closely and productively with Ms McCarthy to demonstrate our key asks of present and future Government.
"The food and farming industry employs more than 3.8 million people and agriculture contributed nearly £10 billion to the economy between 2008 and 2014. These are just two statistics which highlight the importance of backing British farming.
"We would like to invite Ms McCarthy to pledge her support to the NFU's Back British Farming campaign and to attend the NFU fringe event at the Labour Party Conference."
Ms McCarthy said: "My personal views are my personal views but in terms of Labour party policy, promoting animal welfare is something we have always done and promoting sustainable farming. I'm personally happy working with farmers."
