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A farming organization has accused The Vegan Society of propaganda – demanding it is ‘held to account’.
Northern Ireland-based Farmers For Action [FFA] wrote an open letter to the Society saying it shares ‘selected facts’ rather than the ‘full facts’.
Soil microbes
According to FFA, it supports ‘all sectors’ of farming across the UK, but feels like The Vegan Society should highlight fatalities in arable as well as pastoral farming.
The letter says: “We feel that your organisation must explain how your promotion does not highlight to these same growing school children and young people just how many worms and soil microbes lose their lives during soil preparation to grow the vegetables your veganism requires – this is the real world.
“Our question is simply this: will your advertising in future and definition of veganism clearly state in equal size print that worms and soil microbes will die in the process of growing the vegetables required for veganism?”
Argument
Dominika Piasecka, spokeswoman for The Vegan Society, told PBN: “It would seem to us that Farmers For Action [FFA] Northern Ireland is desperately trying to find an argument against veganism with its latest letter to The Vegan Society.
“We’re aware that many forms of farming involve indirect harm to animals but it is unfortunately not possible or practicable to avoid the destruction of the worms and soil microbes.
“However, we do not consider that just because it is not possible to avoid one 100 percent of the cruelty, suffering and exploitation to animals that we should not bother at all.
“Vegans make a huge contribution to the reduction in suffering and death caused to animals and, as animals raised for food are also fed crops and the conversion of those crops into food for humans following the slaughter of the crop eating animal is so poor, then by eating animal products even more worms would die.”
