During a government debate 25 March, Minister for Farming and the Environment, Jane Kennedy, made her views about climate change and the reduction of meat consumption very clear.

Here, Jane Kennedy refers to a debate raised by Bristol East MP, Kerry McCarthy:-

“My hon. Friend the Member for Bristol, East rightly said at the outset that she was a vegan but that that was not the primary reason for calling this debate. It is an important debate in its own right. She has put on the record that she is a vegan, and I respect her views on food, but I have to say that I am not. I suspect that my mum was probably introducing me to meat as a food even before I can remember: she probably fed me home-made shepherd’s pie as she was weaning me. All I can say is that I have stuck with it.

Traditionally, here in the UK meat is an important source of protein, iron, calcium, zinc and other vitamins and minerals. I have a lot of sympathy with those who say that there is no such thing as bad food, that it is the diet that we get wrong and that we need a balanced diet and must exercise greater portion control. Delia Smith was arguing for that just the other day and I think that she is right.

My hon. Friend quoted an American who said that, in order to help deal with climate change, it would be better to become vegetarian or vegan than to change from a high-performance car to a hybrid car. I had better get it on the record and say that I am not going to do that either, I am afraid”.

This is a very disappointing response from the Minister, and again shows that we cannot wait for the government to take the right action, we need to do it ourselves - and there’s nothing stopping us!

Read the report on the House of Commons website.