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A new Christmas advert from the BBC has been branded as an ‘agenda against livestock farming’ by the National Farmers Union (NFU).
The animated advertisement features a turkey wearing a jumper that reads ‘I Love Vegans’ – while pointing to a map of the UK with photos of meat-free dishes. The ad also shows turkeys cheering as it’s announced: ‘less of us have been gobbled this year’.
‘Deeply concerned’
According to the Telegraph, Stuart Roberts, Vice President of the union said: “We are deeply concerned that the BBC appears to have started campaigning for a vegan diet in advertising for its Christmas programming, none of which appears to cover veganism in its schedule.
“It doesn’t appear to sit within the BBC’s editorial guidelines, which clearly states that they shouldn’t be a campaigning organization, and this advert takes our concerns about the BBC’s impartiality in its coverage of meat issues a step further.”
‘Comedic and playful’
The BBC denied that the advert is ‘anti-meat’ or an ‘encouragement’ of veganism.
“The cartoon turkeys in ‘Go Vegan!’ t-shirts are intended to be comedic and playful in keeping with the slightly surreal, exuberant spirit of the film, rather than any kind of endorsement or encouragement of a vegan lifestyle,” a spokesperson for the BBC said.
