The letter to the broadcasting regulator backs up a seperate letter of complaint sent by the NFU to Channel 4 and the producers of the show after it was first aired.
The programme called on the audience to “cancel” the British countryside and British beef, due to its climate impact.
Aside from containing a number of factual inaccuracies, says the NFU, a number of the claims made during the show were based on research on livestock farming that takes place outside of the UK, where farming practices are often much less sustainable than those carried out domestically.
The NFU considers that the ‘The Big British Beef Battle’ has breached three sections of Ofcom’s Broadcasting Code. The letter of complaint has carefully scrutinised the broadcasting code and identified specific areas of the programme that we consider have breached it.
In summary, it focuses on how the programme:
- relied on and presented global statistics in a misleading way;
- failed to accurately represent the British beef industry, such that its representation was unfair;
- failed to adequately represent alternative viewpoints;
- provided only an extremely limited opportunity for the industry to respond to the allegations made in it.
Since its first airing at the start of December, the programme has already attracted more than 220 complaints to Ofcom, including from other industry organisations such as AHDB.
In a previous letter sent to Channel 4 and the producers of the show, the NFU urged them to portray British farming and food production in an “accurate and informed” manner.
The organisation also called for the industry to be included in any future productions that focus on farming and food production in the UK.
Since the programme’s airing, the NFU says it has has been working hard to show the public how red meat consumption is a good source of protein, vitamins and minerals, and that British beef is farmed with a high standard of animal welfare and in a sustainable manner.
