‘I’m not on a crusade against bacon sandwiches’ says vegan Shadow Farming Minister

Vegan Kerry McCarthy, one of new Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn’s most controversial appointments, wants supermarkets to pay farmers a fair price for milk and hopes rules guiding supermarket and supplier relations will be strengthened.

But the MP for Bristol East said her vision for farming was small scale and organic.

On the dairy industry, she said: “I’m not going to stop highlighting my concerns about farming. I think animal welfare standards are very important, and in some quarters there’s a desire to move towards ever more intensive, industrialised forms of farming.

“You can understand if a dairy farmer is finding it difficult to make a living, they might think well the idea is to sort of go down the very intense, industrialised way.

“I don’t think that’s the best solution from animal welfare point of view but also in terms of the economic viability it’s not necessarily the best way to go and in terms of environmental stewardship it’s not the best thing.

“I’m interested in that small scale, organic type farming and good practice but also looking at how we can build upon that.”

She said dairy farming needed total reform to deal with issues of demand, new emerging markets, supermarket pricing and the Common Agriculture Policy, which she said people agree ‘is not fit for purpose’.

She said: “It needs an absolute fundamental review because at the moment you’ve got issues affecting demand. There are Russian sanctions and China bought in a lot of milk powder a couple of years ago so the demand isn’t there. We are always at risk that people are going to find other markets.

“Then you’ve got the question of whether you go for minimum pricing across the EU and the relationship with the supermarkets, who use milk as a loss leader.”

Arable farms in the South of England had been an inspiration for the shadow minister since she started in post two weeks ago, as well as creative ways of diversifying away from livestock.

The shadow minister, who is also vice president of the anti-hunting League Against Cruel Sports, said her veganism was a private issue but commented that the Shadow Farming Minister Nick Smith eats meat and is strongly connected to rural communities.

“The vegan thing is very personal. Most of my constituents eat meat and dairy and I probably wouldn’t be an MP if I was going to say I’m going to go round and take their bacon sandwiches. I’m not going to be on a vigilante crusade,” she added.

She said she supported British meat and farming, but that it was unlikely that she would ever need to lead a delegation abroad to try and promote British meat.

“Whether I’d be the best person to lead up a trade delegation saying come and buy our pigs, that’s something to think about,” she said.

“I want to put the policies in place to support farming.”