Plaid Cymru demands Labour condemnation of 'ridiculous anti-meat claims'

Plaid Cymru’s Shadow Rural Affairs Minister Llyr Gruffydd has called on the Labour Government in Wales to condemn ridiculous claims made by the Labour Shadow Secretary of State for Rural Affairs Kerry McCarthy that meat should be treated in the same way as tobacco. Her comments have been reported in the Telegraph.

Kerry McCarthy, the self-professed “militant” campaigner against meat consumption, once said: "I really believe that meat should be treated in exactly the same way as tobacco, with public campaigns to stop people eating it.”

Plaid Cymru’s Llyr Gruffydd said that the production of meat contributed an estimated £1 billion to Wales’ economy last year, and added that the Labour Government should be doing more, not less, to support the crucial sector.

Plaid Cymru’s Shadow Minister for Sustainable Communities, Energy and Food Llyr Gruffydd said:

“At a time when farmers are struggling with plummeting red meat prices, Labour should be doing everything it can to support them, not attacking them.

“The Labour Shadow Secretary of State’s ridiculous anti-meat agenda is dangerous to Wales’s economy. It’s clear that Labour does not care about our rural communities.

“Making the ridiculous comparison between tobacco, which has killed millions of people, and meat is plain stupid. With farming facing critical challenges in so many sectors, the last thing the industry needs is a Shadow Secretary of State obsessed with such a ridiculous distraction.

“The Labour Government in Wales must now condemn the comments made by Kerry McCarthy.”

This comes before the Shadow Defra Secretary asserted her veganism will not alter Labour’s policy when it comes to agriculture.