Vegan

It isnt about imposing her beliefs.
It is about having their interests at heart.
The very basis of interest in actually wanting them to do what they do.

Was that in the UK Wilma?
It has been like that for a while in the USA. Not sure where or for how long.

In the UK a while ago, there were plans for something the same in the UK, but I think that plans were turned down. I could be wrong.

The Little Red Tractor no longer means the same thing as when it was introduced and some people would be disappointed at the changes.

I really don't understand why some posters think she will try to impose her beliefs on others. That's not her job is it????

The DEFRA remit is wide ranging, so perhaps this link will help explain just how wide

www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-environment-food-rural-affairs

I would also think Kerry will have to limit events she attended in her capacity as a vegan MP now she is a shadow minister - she just won't have the time.

And as for it being an advantange that the current minister has a farming background, well that depends on your point of view. I've just watched a piece on the BBC News of dairy cows fed and milked using a robot style machine. I thought it was amazing - until the report said the cows never left the barn. Intensive farming has just moved to a new level. Cows that never chew the cud.

I do not think Kerry McCarthy wants farmers to stop producing food

Would that include meat?
According to dr google, vegans dont eat honey either. So no joy for beekeepers where she is concerned.

I expect so; thank goodness she is the Shadow Minister, otherwise we would be seeing empty shelves in the supermarkets if battle should commence with those who produce our food.

I wonder if she will be able to bring any pressure to bear on the RSPCA, even as Shadow, as, although they spend a considerable amount fighting causes they may consider worthwhile, they seem to put down healthy animals at the drop of a hat without any attempt to re-home them.

'Battles with the NFU' - surely not!

Kerry McCarthy is being spoken of as if she is the Minister, not the Shadow Minister.

I do not think Kerry McCarthy wants farmers to stop producing food. She is an ardent supporter of animal welfare groups, as we should all be.
She wants animals to be treated properly.
If you look at all the animal welfare problems that occur, it's groups like Viva! that expose them, and farming groups that hide them.
She is also a solicitor, which could come in handy in her battles with the NFU. Perhaps they will think more carefully about how they treat their animals, even those with little red tractors and Freedom Foods logos.

Teachers may have hated Michael Gove (that was very much in evidence on previous threads on here).
However, soontobe, to clear up confusion, his remit was not to please teachers. I am sure many parents liked and admired him.

Jeremy Hunt believes in homoeopathy.

Kerry McCarthy is going to be here next month if anyone wants to see her in action.

london.vegfest.co.uk/news/94-vegfestuklondon2015-event-programme-now-available-to-view-online

But that is not the same thing trisher and Tegan.

In this case, it is the minister who doesnt approve of what they are doing. At all with some of them.

So it is like Michael Gove not wanting teachers to teach, well anything!
And Jeremy Hunt not wanting doctors to treat anyone.

If I understand vegans correctly.

If other teachers are the same as my daughter they STILL hate Michael Gove!

soon where have you been? Teachers hated Michael Gove when he was Education. And doctors hate jeremy Hunt

* At the moment she'll be aiming to influence the government's policy.*

I am pretty sure I am confused, in that case by a Shadow Government Minister's role in general.
I thought, well assumed that they were still supposed to be on the same side of the people working in the industry.

So I assumed, perhaps wrongly, that a Shadow Health minister was still on the same side of doctors and nurses.
That an Education minister was still on the side of teachers. etc

At least the current Minister does have a farming background!

Not necessarily soon, more because she's not the one involved in EU negotiations, etc. At the moment she'll be aiming to influence the government's policy.

TBH I don't know when or in what context she used the word, so I may have made assumptions.

Is it being mentioned she is the shadow minister, because she is expected to be against the Conservative one?

I just thought 'dirty' was not the best word she could have chosen to explain what she meant.

Most farming involves 'dirt' of one kind or another

She won't tar all farmers with the same brush, just as I don't.

I hope she confronts the 'dirty' side of farming and hopefully with the support of all the good farmers. She has a job to do and alienating the people she's represents is hardly conducive to doing that job well.

Remember she's just the shadow minister.

Well, she is MP for Bristol East, so, although you could describe it as 'inner city', Bristol is a relatively small city surrounded by rural agricultural areas.

Yes, Wilma I will agree with you.

Most farmers, I think, look after their animals well - after all it is in their own interests to do so, apart from the fact they have a healthy regard for them, otherwise there would be no living to be made from sick or ailing animals.
There is always room for improvement though.

Sadly there are many people who seem completely clueless where their food comes from - and have no idea of the hard work involved getting it to the supermarket shelves.

True, she could be clued up on food.

But I cant see that she is going to be supportive in many ways at all, to farmers who she probably doesnt have much respect for.

Apparently there are 3.8 million people working in food and farming. Let alone other rural workers. That is a serious amount of voters to be at odds with.

I'll try soon
here goes:

www.fwi.co.uk/news/vegan-shadow-defra-secretary-leaves-farm-sector-in-shock.htm

and to be scrupulously fair (as I hope I am always ) here are two others:

www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/sep/16/vegan-shadow-agriculture-minister-jeremy-corbyn-kerry-mccarthy
www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3233981/Jeremy-Corbyn-s-shadow-Cabinet.html
The last link with some very nice dare I say stunning photographs (although I have seen better ones of Diane Abbott)

sorry, rambling on

Oops! I meant I have rarely met a vegan who is NOT well aware of where her food comes from