THE anonymous letter in the 6th May edition of the Bridport News regarding the BBC’s anti-meat agenda shows a tactic of those critical of our farmers in conflating UK agriculture with farming practices in other countries.

I have no issue with concerns being raised over sustainability of agriculture globally.

What I object to is that the BBC decided not to distinguish between sustainable and unsustainable farming systems which is a kick in the teeth to thousands of farmers in the UK who devote their businesses to sustainability.

Rather than letting children believe that all meat is equally as detrimental to the planet, they ought to educate them about what our farmers have been doing to make the food they produce for us more sustainable – things like going organic, entering environmental stewardship schemes or incorporating livestock production as a key component of arable rotations.

This has been shown to enrich deficient crop producing soil with carbon stored from the atmosphere, nutrients and microorganisms. Livestock farming in the UK is vital to conserving ecosystems like chalk downlands, sandy heaths and grassland ecology more widely.

Our government has subsidised investment in farms to capture methane gas more effectively to produce renewable energy for powering our homes.

Subsidy schemes for eco-friendly innovations and practices are continuing to revolutionise the way we produce our food. There will always be more work to do, but the industry has come a very long way.

To address the respondent’s demand that I need to confront the injustices that rural communities face, I believe the deliberate misrepresentation of the small family farms and the sustainable, nutritious food they produce is a major injustice that I am determined to challenge.

Livestock farming in the UK is a vital building block for sustainability, not a barrier to it.

CHRIS LODER West Dorset MP