Farm leaders have branded a campaign encouraging people to go vegan for January as misleading.
Both the National Sheep Association (NSA) and NFU Scotland (NFUS) have hit out at Veganuary.
NSA chief executive Phil Stocker said the association was ready to fight back against “the misguided and misleading campaign”.
He said rather than making plans for the year ahead, producers were having to argue against a “torrent of false claims” of crimes against animal welfare, the environment and health.
“Make no doubt about it, behind the positive messages about Veganuary lies a well co-ordinated campaign against livestock farming,” added Mr Stocker.
“We are seeing criticisms from welfare campaigners, rewilders, climate change campaigners and health campaigners – but all these are connected and ignore the fact that UK sheep farming works very much in harmony with our environment, our landscapes and our human ecology, creating a countryside the majority of the public love and producing a food product that is healthy and nutritious within a balanced diet.”
NFUS president Andrew McCornick said farmers were not frustrated by
the decision to stop buying animal products, but by the fact the decision was often made on the back of misinformation.
He added: “The most important thing to remember when deciding what to eat this January should not be, ‘is it vegan?’ It should be, ‘is it Scottish and is it in season?’”
