Update: There has been a response to this letter from Blue Peter on 13/04/21 which can be read below.
The iconic BBC children’s TV show Blue Peter has asked viewers to become part of a ‘green army’ to tackle carbon emissions and climate change. Recommendations to earn a Green Badge include encouraging children to take the ‘Supersize Plants Pledge’ and replacing red meat dishes with “climate friendly” plant-based alternatives.
Citing phrases including “reducing the amount of meat you eat, especially beef and lamb, is known to be even better for the climate than reducing the amount you travel in a car”[1] is incorrect, misleading and based on widely-debunked data. This unbalanced reporting risks compromising the integrity of the red meat produced in the UK to the consumers of the future.
It is essential that young people learn and understand where their food comes from and its impact on the planet, and the Green Badge campaign presents an opportunity to share the fantastic credentials of the British red meat industry, which is amongst the most sustainable in the world and supports the livelihoods of thousands of people.
As a public service broadcaster, the BBC has a responsibility to provide an impartial argument. This is all the more important when communicating to children.
Blue Peter also promotes the Carbon Calculator, a simplistic tool that cites global data not representative of the UK’s red meat industry.
Some of the fantastic initiatives happening right now in farms across the country include conducting regular carbon audits to manage and offset emissions; avoiding ploughing, drainage and over grazing; creating wildlife corridors along water margins, field margins and headlands, taking action to control soil and achieving net zero across the industry in England and Wales by 2040 and by 2045 in Scotland.
The highest volume of CO2 is produced by the fossil fuel industries, with livestock farming contributing just 6% of the UK’s CO2 emissions[2]. Given this statistic, cutting your individual meat consumption would in fact not reduce the UK’s overall CO2 emissions nearly as significantly as structural changes in the energy and transport sectors such as encouraging families to walk, cycle and use public transport.
Furthermore, the minerals and vitamins found in red meat should form an important part of a growing young person’s diet. Iron from meat sources is more readily absorbed by the human body compared with iron found in other non-meat sources. A lack of iron may result in a deficiency, increasing the risk of anaemia. Severe iron deficiency may also increase the risk of developing complications to the heart and lungs.
As it stands, 42% of teenage girls fail to achieve the minimum iron intake and 22% of teenage girls don’t get enough zinc[3], which is essential in supporting a healthy immune system.
We would welcome the opportunity to share the positive messages from the red meat industry. Sharing information with young people about the techniques and processes in place to make sure farming in the UK is not at the detriment to the wider environment is also essential in helping them form their own opinions and consumption habits. A good place to start is Farming Foodsteps, an online resource developed by professionals specifically for school-aged children which explores the red meat journey and includes sustainability and health messaging.
These stories must be shared, and we ask that the BBC and Blue Peter to reconsider their one-sided messaging and provide an opportunity for the heads of the UK’s red meat industry bodies to meet with the head of children’s programming to shed light on the positive messages.
Yours faithfully,
Alan Clarke, Chief Executive of Quality Meat Scotland (QMS)
Christine Watts, Chief Communications Officer of Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB)
Gwyn Howells, Chief Executive of Hybu Cig Cymru / Meat Promotion Wales (HCC)
[1] The pitfalls of simplification when looking at greenhouse gas emissions from livestock, Thomson Reuters Foundation News, 2018 https://news.trust.org/item/20180918083629-d2wf0 [2] CIEL, Integrated Report, 2020 – http://annual-report.cielgroup.com/ [3] Iron and Health, Scientific Commission on Nutrition, 2010 https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/Update: 13/04/21
Blue Peter Drops Anti-Meat Message After Farmer Backlash
The CBBC television programme Blue Peter has dropped an anti-meat pledge that was part of a climate challenge for viewers to earn a green badge, after a backlash from farmers.
The “climate heroes” challenge, which involved such tasks as switching off lights and not using plastic bottles, was blasted for asking children and their classes or after-school clubs to swap to vegetarian meals.
See also: Swap out meat and be ‘climate hero’, says TV show Blue Peter
The three meat levy boards – Quality Meat Scotland, Meat Promotion Wales and the AHDB – have written a letter to Tim Davie, the BBC director-general, reminding the corporation of its “responsibility to provide an impartial argument”.
The letter says the green badge campaign presents an “opportunity to share the fantastic credentials of the British red meat industry, which is amongst the most sustainable in the world”.
It added: “Sharing information with young people about the techniques and processes in place to make sure farming in the UK is not at the detriment to the wider environment is also essential in helping them form their own opinions and consumption habits.”
The new wording on the BBC website says “choose a couple of vegetarian meal options during your two weeks as part of a healthy balanced diet”.
Welsh farmer Gareth Wyn Jones, who had criticised the initial “sweeping statement” for overlooking the benefits of UK grass-fed meat, welcomed the climbdown.
He told Farmers Weekly:
“The answer is educating the next generation, and that’s why I was angry. For me, the winner here is the children because they are going to get the right message. I think there is more to be said about grass-fed, local, seasonal food.
“All these are major players in bringing our carbon footprint down. Meat is good if done properly and that is the message we have to get out there. I have nothing against peoples’ personal choices to be vegetarian or vegan but we have to give children an educated choice.”
A BBC spokesman said the website had also been updated to “reflect that buying seasonal food or local grass-fed meat can also make a difference to climate change”.
