“It’s very polarised and it’s doing enormous damage to the mental health of livestock farmers,” she said.
The National Farmers’ Union has criticised stars such as Joaquin Phoenix who use their celebrity to promote veganism, claiming the growth in meat-free living is fuelling a rise in mental health problems among British farmers.
“It’s just about instilling this philosophy and being kind and farmers need – we all need – to think that too, our mental health wellbeing in this world of social media, we just need to take a step back sometimes.
She said taking meat out of people’s diets was not the panacea for the climate crisis.