Laurence Candy lost his entire dairy herd to bovine tuberculosis, and he decided to stop sending animals to the slaughterhouse.
The 50-year old reflects on 2017’s event and says, “It made my wonder if it is possible to justify the industrial slaughter sentient beings.” “As a society we must question this.”
Since last year, Mr Candy has been working closely with Farmers For Stock-Free Farming (FFSFF) in Scotland. This is a group that supports meat and dairy farmers looking to make the transition to animal-free farming.
He is currently in the process to sell his remaining cattle, 35 beef cattle, and concentrate on cereals like oats, wheat and barley.
Mr Candy also plans to switch to “veganic manufacturing”, which bans the use or modification of soil with manure or other animal products. International Biocyclic Vegan Network is his partner in this endeavor. It certifies organic, plant-based farms all over the globe.
He says that it allows two years for a transition from a livestock business to establish new alternatives. This approach allows the farmer to set a time frame to develop their business plans without any financial consequences.
Mr Candy says, “I’m trying add value.” Although there aren’t many farmers who grow vegan food, it is becoming a popular trend in his country.
His comments are supported by statistics. According to a survey by the Vegan Society, the number of British vegans quadrupled between 2014-2019.
Research by Mintel found that nearly half of Britons (49%) are now restricting their meat intake or skipping it altogether. This is an increase of 41% from 2020.
This comes as the National Food Strategy, an independent review of the UK’s meat consumption, has said last year that it was “unsustainable”. The National Food Strategy concluded that the UK’s current meat consumption needed to drop by 30% in order to improve the environment.
The call to reduce meat consumption and the parallel increase in interest in veganism are being repeated around the globe.
Mark Lanigan, a Canadian farmer, decided to leave his Ontario farm after a calves was born prematurely in 2016. He spent the entire day trying to keep it alive. The 65-year old says, “I had an epiphany.”
