Shadow Defra secretary revealed as anti-meat campaigner
Kerry McCarthy (left) backed Heather Mills in a protest against farrowing crates in 2007. ©Tony Kyriacou/Rex Shutterstock Bristol East MP Kerry McCarthy has been appointed shadow Defra secretary by newly elected Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn.
Ms McCarthy – who is a vegan and a vice-president of the League Against Cruel Sports – was promoted to the front bench post on Monday (14 September).
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Elected as an MP in 2005, she studied Russian politics and linguistics at Liverpool University before working as a lawyer before embarking on her political career.
An outspoken critic of the meat industry, Ms McCarthy believes livestock farming contributes to world hunger by using crops as animal feed, rather than to feed humans.
She has also campaigned against the over use of antibiotics in agriculture and voted repeatedly against culling badgers as a means of controlling bovine tuberculosis in cattle.
Ms McCarthy outlined her anti-meat stance on her website in June 2013, arguing that animal agriculture and its contribution to world hunger should be top of the G8 agenda.
“By cutting our meat consumption and slowing the rate at which animals are bred, we could redirect the crops that they would have consumed to the people who need them most.”
The “water footprint” of the livestock sector was huge, said Ms McCarthy.
“It takes more than 2,400gal of water to produce 1lb of meat, while growing 1lb of wheat requires only 25gal,” she wrote.
“You save more water by not eating 1lb of meat than you do by not showering for six months.”
Ms McCarthy added: “Then there are the sky-rocketing healthcare costs that are attributable in large part to the increase in human consumption of meat, eggs and dairy products.
“Loaded with artery-clogging cholesterol and saturated fat, these products have been linked to cancer, heart attacks, strokes, diabetes and obesity.
“These top killers burden the NHS and necessitate that billions of pounds be spent searching for cures and medications to relieve disease symptoms.
“They also claim a huge number of lives.”
The livestock sector was dirty and cruel, said Ms McCarthy, who urged people to eat less meat.
“The meat, dairy and egg industries cause immense suffering to more than a billion animals every year in the UK alone, most of whom spend their entire lives crammed inside dark, filthy sheds.
“They don’t get to breathe fresh air until they are on their way to the abattoir, where many have their throats slit while they are still conscious.”