Labour Urges Farmers to Stop Raising Cattle and Grow Lentils Instead in Net Zero Push

WILL JONES

Labour has urged British farmers to stop raising cattle and grow lentils instead as part of a Net Zero push. GB News has more.

The Government published its highly-anticipated ‘Farming Roadmap’ on Wednesday, outlining its long-term vision for Britain’s agriculture sector.

The 71-page document outlined the Government’s intention to help British farmers wind down high-emission farming – including cattle – and move towards “growing oilseeds and pulses” for planet-based products.

“Farmers will play a critical role in delivering this transition by adopting practices that reduce emissions while sustaining productive, commercially viable businesses,” the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) wrote.

The roadmap is widely regarded as a bid from Labour to get back in rural Britain’s good books amid continued fury over Rachel Reeves’s family farm tax.

However, cattle farmers have hit out at the plans, insisting that land used to raise their animals would not be suitable for growing plant-based items, such as lentils.

Henry Graham, a Berkshire-based farmer who owns a mob of 400 cattle, told the Telegraph: “The idea of somebody ploughing up pasture to grow lentils is ludicrous.”

He insisted that chemicals used on lentils would be unable to be sprayed near water courses where cattle graze because it would simply be too wet.

According to figures from the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board, the number of Britons adopting a plant-based diet has started to level off.

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Alongside the push for a more “environmentally sustainable” farming sector, Labour has also unveiled plans to increase the number of robots being used on farms.