Meat: Farmers' anger over council's plant-based diet email

Farmers have been left furious after a rural council called on staff to eat less meat.

They want Pembrokeshire council to apologise after an internal newsletter urged staff to cut back on meat and dairy, saying a plant-based diet was healthier.

The council said it was part of a series of tips on saving the planet.

One of the county's many farmers, Charles George, of Wolf's Castle, called it a "kick in the teeth".

"They have got it completely wrong," he added.

"They should be out there encouraging people to eat local, to support local businesses, instead of having some vegan food that might have come from anywhere in the world."

NFU Cymru has called for a meeting with the council's chief executive.

Pembrokeshire NFU vice-chairman Simon Davies said he reacted with disbelief to the memo and was disappointed by it.

"As farmers and as a union we work very hard as an industry to produce food of the highest quality and of the highest order," he said.

"My wish would be that Pembrokeshire council would endorse our products and instruct their families... to buy more locally-produced, locally-sourced products."

Former Pembrokeshire council leader and independent councillor, John Davies, called the message "a wrong one".

He said the council had shown a lack of respect and understanding and undermined the farming industry and should have only been urging people to cut down on meat and dairy bought "from distant land".

He accused the council of undermining an industry that "produces food that produces for the economy of Pembrokeshire".

"It has done so not just in the last 100 years but for centuries and continues to do so at a time when other industries have arrived in Pembrokeshire and have disappeared from Pembrokeshire".

Sioned Haf Thomas, who lives in Cardiff and is from Pembrokeshire, posts on Instagram about veganism.

She said: "I recognise that cutting out meat entirely is difficult, it's not easy.

"But every little change makes a difference, like cutting out meat. Even if it's a couple of meals a week without meat, then it reduces the environmental impact it has."

The Liberal Democrats said councils should not be "trying to dictate what staff can and cannot eat".

Plaid Cymru said communities "must redouble" efforts to support local businesses and food producers in the face of the rising cost of living.

Samuel Kurtz, who is standing down as a Pembrokeshire county councillor this May and is the Welsh Conservative's rural affairs spokesman in the Senedd, said: "What looks to have been a simple error has caused concern in the local farming community.

"Pembrokeshire is renowned for its fantastic agricultural produce, of high quality and sustainability, so the industry would expect support from the local authority."

The son of a Pembrokeshire beef farmer added all local authorities should be pushing a "buy local" message.

Labour has also been approached for comment.

The council said the newsletter was part of a series of tips for saving the planet, with details gathered from an external source.

The statement was reproduced out of context and according to the authority, the newsletter is no longer shared.

It said it was supportive of the rural community and agriculture.