By: Debayan Paul
National Farmers’ Union (NFU) president, Minette Batters called out to Oscar-winning US actor and active veganism proponent, Joaquin Phoenix, of causing mental health problems to UK’s livestock farmers.
Phoenix, who won the award for the best actor for the role of ‘Joker’ in the blockbuster movie of the same name, spoke to the Oscar crowd about a myriad of matters from socio-political aspects to an elaborate emphasis on animal cruelty that is prevalent in the meat industry.
The accusation came on Tuesday, from the NFU president who opened a front unlike any against the vegan actor as Batters claims that celebrity figures like Phoenix have demonized UK’s meat market and have caused ‘enormous damage’ to their wellbeing, the Guardian reports.
When asked who she thinks is kindling the view that plants are positive and meat negative, she revealed a lot of celebrities who have hit the red carpet at the Bafta awards.
“Celebrities have to be careful [because] there are real-life consequences for others …,” the NFU president said speaking at the union’s annual conference.
“…but he has to remember there are people at the end of this, there are small family farms and they get hurt too,” Batters was quoted as saying.
However, the livestock leader’s words were critically reverted back by proponents of a cruelty-free and plant-based lifestyle.
Her comments were reportedly deemed inevident on factual grounds and ignorant of the ethical threat posed by the meat industry.
“There are many causes of mental health issues and stress in farming and I haven’t seen evidence, a piece of research, showing that veganism is one of them,” a spokesperson from The Vegan Society told.
Minette Batters pointed out that she isn’t branding veganism is wrong, rather pointing out that the conflict around meat-eating is binary to a point it has started to project meat as tobacco.
The Long Term Vegan
Joaquin Phoenix’s powerful speech at the Oscars garnered huge applause from the proponents of the plant-based industry.
He began his speech by expressing gratitude to the Industry, and the career that gave him the platform to “to use [my] voice for the voiceless.”
“I’m full of so much gratitude now. I do not feel elevated above any of my fellow nominees or anyone in this room, because we share the same love – that’s the love of film,” he started his Oscar acceptance speech for the best actor award.
“I think whether we’re talking about gender inequality or racism or queer rights or indigenous rights or animal rights, we’re talking about the fight against injustice — against the belief that one nation, one race, one gender or one species has the right to dominate, control, and use and exploit another with impunity,” the speech continued.
Just recently the actor went on to prove he is not all talks as soon after his Oscar acceptance speech he went on to save a baby cow and it’s mum from slaughter, in association with non-profit organization Los Angeles Animal Save.
According to reports, the United Kingdom continues to remain a Vegan hotspot. The cruelty-free lifestyle soars in British territory, and online trend reflects the popularity. The latest research conducted by Vegan Society traces the presence of around 600k vegans in Britain.
Supermarkets continue to stock up their plant-based collection, while major fast-food chains keep adding better and more vegan alternatives to their original meat-based dishes.
Celebrities endorsing to the cruelty-free lifestyle and cause propel millions of followers into considering the ethical lifestyle. Ariana Grande, Miley Cyrus, Oscar-winning singer Billie Eilish are among the noteworthy stars who don’t eat animal products. The hashtag vegan on Instagram currently has 89.9 million followers.
