Veganuary, A spot of psychology, Clean Air Strategy

Farming Today

• Episode: Veganuary, A spot of psychology, Clean Air Strategy
• Website: Farming Today
• Feed URL: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006qj8q/episodes/downloads.rss
• Duration: 00:11:36
• Published: 2019-01-14 07:00

Following a plant based diet is a growing trend and increasingly, a business opportunity for UK food producers - with consumers thinking harder about when, why and what they eat... This month has been declared 'Veganury', and all this week we'll be talking about veganism's impact on public perceptions of food and farming - and considering whether it's possible for the opposing sides to have constructive conversations. Charlotte starts the week by talking to Dr Carys Bennett, from the animal right campaign group PETA. So what is it that makes the debate around veganism so divisive? Charlotte asks Dr Jutta Tobias Mortlock, a senior lecturer in organisational psychology at London's City University, why this topic is so polarised. Today, the government releases its long awaited Clean Air Strategy - and there are going to be repercussions for farmers. The agriculture sector accounts for 88% of ammonia emissions, which are released into the air during the storage and spreading of manures and slurries, as well as from the application of inorganic fertilisers. Ammonia can damage natural habitats and contributes to smog in urban areas. To combat all that the government will introduce new rules around slurry management and emissions reduction. BBC Environment correspondent Matt McGrath shares more details.