I can assure Emma Beddington that there’s not really anything new about “vegan slurs” being used to denigrate and ridicule political opponents (Why is ‘vegan’ suddenly being used as a slur?, 30 August). Or at least not in parliament, where I’ve been an MP for more than 20 years. It took a while to out myself as vegan, knowing full well what the impact would be, particularly on the credibility of anything I had to say on food or farming. From then on, however, being subjected to heckling and “amusing” interventions during parliamentary debates was par for the course.
One could question why, when it’s most definitely not OK to ridicule the dietary choices someone makes because of their religious faith, it was deemed big and clever to do so when it was based on “just” an ethical belief. But I’ve always found it tedious rather than offensive. The occasional social media onslaught was worse, but still far removed from the relentless abuse experienced by some of my colleagues. There’s no equivalence between being on the receiving end of rape threats, or homophobia, or racism, and some weirdo tweeting you pictures of bacon sandwiches to try to wind you up.
Ultimately, I can live with the occasional inanity of political discourse, provided the underlying messages about more sustainable food systems, cutting methane emissions, stamping out deforestation in our food supply chains, ending the routine overuse of antibiotics in animal agriculture which puts human health at risk, and so on and so forth, cut through.
Kerry McCarthy MP
Labour, Bristol East
• Have an opinion on anything you’ve read in the Guardian today? Please email us your letter and it will be considered for publication in our letters section.
