'Vegans don't understand' damage they cause, farmer argues
27 February 2021, 16:50
'Vegans don't understand' the damage they're doing, claims farmer
This farmer explained how his attempts to cultivate crops synonymous with a vegan diet brought everlasting damage to the ecosystem in his land.
David is a Zimbabwean farmer and joined Maajid Nawaz to explain the domino effect of environmental damage caused by growing solely plants on farmland.
He explained that cultivating crops like lentils and soy beans requires a significant amount of chemical spray, but explained the downfall of such measures.
"If you get a heavy rainfall and you lose all that herbicide, you've got to re-herbicide it." The farmer told Maajid that the herbicide that gets washed away by rainfall "ends up in the river system."
Following on from that, rivers develop "heavy algae growth," which is detrimental to the fish in the rivers, and this has a knock-on effect up the food chain.
Read More: Almost a quarter of new food products are vegan
Farmer worries that vegans aren't aware of environmental impact
"It messed up the whole ecological system," he confessed.
David went on to tell Maajid that he adopted a system of herding grass-fed cattle which had a much better impact on the ecosystem.
"The vegans don't understand that, they're just set in their ways."
He recounted a conversation he had with a group of young vegans about how animal cruelty is interwoven with most of western culture, explaining the abuse that goes into manufacturing a material as widespread as denim.
The farmer explained that the conversation led to the group thanking him for a constructive conversation.
"They'd never been told, and they learned something new."
