Vegan activist Earthling Ed was in typically inspiring form when he was pitted against a butcher on a live BBC debate last night (February 2).
The animal rights campaigner featured on BBC One’s The Big Questions as the show asked ‘Is environmentalism the new religion?’.
Presenter Nicky Campbell introduced Earthing Ed and a butcher, who were sat beside each other, and applauded the pair as they shook hands.
But the chummy encounter took a more serious tone as Campbell asked the butcher: “Do you feel demonised as a butcher, because you have high welfare standards don’t you?”
“I think all of the production systems get lumped together,” the butcher argued.
“I feel that I can offer my customers the traceability, the welfare and also how those animals are looked after and fed.”
Unsurprisingly this was not enough to reassure the activist, who asked: “Can you tell me how they are killed in the abattoir?”
The butcher explained the animals are knocked unconscious and electrocuted.
Phrases such as ‘humane’ and ‘high welfare’ by the meat industry have been regularly targeted by activists for being misleading.
Earthling Ed continued: “It’s a fact that we don’t need to eat these products so to take the life of an animal can never be high welfare or moral.
“Talking about environmentalism and not talking about the role that animal agriculture plays is like talking about lung cancer and not addressing the role that cigarette smoking plays.
“There’s a documentary called Land of Hope and Glory online which talks all about what happens to animals in the UK.”
Research
The activist then referenced a study by the University of Oxford which recommended making the switch to a vegan diet.
But the butcher interrupted, asking if the study was conducted by a vegan.
“He wasn’t vegan when he started but he was by the time he finished,” Ed continued.
“He found that 83% of the farmland that we currently use is dedicated to animal agriculture and if the world shifted to a plant-based diet we would reduce the amount of land we needed for agriculture by 75%.
“He summarised by saying that the best thing we can do for our planet is to live a vegan lifestyle.”
The activist went on to discuss a comprehensive study about food and the environment.
“It said in the UK we have to reduce our beef, our lamb and our pig consumption by 90% and our dairy and poultry and egg consumption by 60% to not hit that 1.5 degree threshold rise in 12 years time,” Ed explained.
“The studies are out there, the information is out there, we have to listen.”
What do you think of this debate? Tell us in the comments section below!
Lifestyle
Vegan culture, food, beauty & more
Gordon Ramsay Ditches Vegan Hate and Backs Flora’s Plant-Based Butter in New ‘Skip the Cow’ Campaign
- Totally Vegan Buzz Team
- 28th January 2025
Celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay, once infamous for his digs at vegans, has taken a sharp turn in the kitchen. Ramsay has teamed up with Flora, the famous UK-based spread brand, as its global ambassador, marking a bold new chapter in Flora’s “Skip the Cow” campaign. Flora, established in 1964, has long been a household name …
The Top 10 Vegan-Friendly Places in Latin America
- Totally Vegan Buzz Team
- 27th January 2025
Latin America is experiencing an extraordinary rise in plant-based dining options. A new study, spearheaded by Veganuary in partnership with the food discovery platform HappyCow, reveals that Latin America now boasts over 10,000 vegan, vegetarian, and vegan-friendly restaurants—an impressive 21.6% jump compared to last year. Brazil takes the crown as the number one country, with …
Continue reading “The Top 10 Vegan-Friendly Places in Latin America”
VEGAN MEMES
NEED A LAUGH?
QUIZZES
All the quizzes you love to binge!
QUIZ: If you score 11/12 on this quiz, you’re a verified vegan food expert
- Marlon Farrugia
- 10th January 2020
How much vegan knowledge do you have stored away? Do you have to Google your way through a shopping trip, or do you have all the bad E-numbers memorised? Find out now with this quiz. [wpViralQuiz id=27203]
QUIZ: What is your perfect Vegan Halloween Costume?
- Marlon Farrugia
- 13th October 2019
Spook Season approaches. There will be ghosts, goblins, ghouls, and glucose. You need a costume, and you want to it to show off your personality, which means VEGAN. But what to choose? Take our quiz to find out your perfect outfit. [wpViralQuiz id=33494]
QUIZ: What kind of vegetable are you?
- Marlon Farrugia
- 26th September 2019
“If you were a vegetable, what kind would you be?” A question that has tormented humanity throughout the ages – until now. [wpViralQuiz id=31281] Read: QUIZ: If you score 19/20 on THIS quiz, you’re a Vegan God