Farmer's daughter and blog writer Heather Mackie has spoken at how "heart-breaking" it is to see vegan activists attack the farming industry without fully understanding it. In her online blog, she writes the following...
I have grown up and worked on a farm since I could walk and as many farmers’ children will tell you, is the best way to grow up.
To briefly describe my childhood - it was full of exploration. It was full of love and care for every animal, and I even learned to drive before high school.
So when farmers have grown up with so much pride and dedication to their career, it is absolutely heart-breaking to hear people who do not have the knowledge trying to attack farmers.
If you want to be vegan and/or vegetarian that is your choice, but there is no need to attack the farming community.
Farmers have great pride in their work and have traditionally fed the country during wars. They have also been the backbone in the revolution of a healthy diet to communities.
To suddenly be attacked centuries later by a community who talks of peace, but spread so much hate towards the farmers, is astounding.
'Lifestyle like no other'
A farmers lifestyle is like no other, what other job can you describe where the workers have no day off?
Christmas day is just between the hours of 10am-1pm, 8pm-midnight. Would you work at a job that gave you no sick days and no holiday days? And every day working 12-18 hour shifts? No!
But farmers do it every day, how often do farmers complain? Do you see farmers protesting?
Farmers love their job, and thank god! Because no-one else would agree to those conditions. Yet, farmers get a severe lack of respect and are severely under paid.
Everyday farmers get up before dawn to care for their animals, they will milk their cows, do their bedding, feed them, feed the calves, do all the extra time - all before their breakfast.
They come in and eat their breakfast, the whole time worrying about that one calf that wont learn to suck or all the jobs they need to try and do before the next milking in the afternoon.
Afternoons are filled with cleaning out sheds, moving cattle, doing silage, spreading slurry, helping a cow and a calf to be interrupted by the next milking, the next feed and the next medicating.
My father has two meals a day, breakfast and dinner, breakfast is at 10.30am and dinner at 10pm every single day. No tea breaks, just continuous work.
'Big heart'
To be a farmer you need to have a big heart from snow and rain, and lets face it, this is Britain - so there's limited sun.
Farmers are always there for their livestock, putting their own needs aside for the better of their livestock.
Farmers miss parties, weddings and funerals for the care of their livestock. I have never met anyone as sacrificing, determined or caring as the farmers in my community.
To anyone who believes farming is cruelty, you will never see a cow run from a farmer, cows love farmers, when we go to the fields the cows run to welcome you, they recognise you.
Farmers have a very close relationship with their cows, recognise their voice, their walk and understand what the farmer is asking with one hand gesture.
Heather Mackie is a farmer's daughter from Scotland who is currently in her third year at the University of the West of Scotland.
