I AM writing in response to your article covering Chris Loder’s communication with the BBC about their promotion of eating less meat as part of children obtaining their Blue Peter Green badge.

Whilst your article covers the BBC’s reply at the end, I would take issue with several ways in which Mr Loder represents the argument: 1) The article and Mr Loder miss the opportunity to promote the work that can and is being done in arable and mixed farming to make healthier, greener and more local food in Dorset.

2) Fails to acknowledge that farming of ruminants does have a very significant environmental impact worldwide, and that we do need to reduce our meat and dairy intake per capita, but that farming communities need to be involved and supported in this.

3) There are clear health benefits to eating more vegetables.

4) To reduce this to a complaint about “woke” bias at the BBC reduces complex issues down to unhelpful inflammatory language. I would not refer to the “pro-gammon” bias of the modern conservative party for the same reason.

My understanding of “woke” is that it represents being alert to injustice (especially racial). Mr Loder needs to focus on representing the injustices that the predominantly rural communities he represents experience. He can do better than stooping to stoke devisive “culture wars”.

 

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