- Location
- Cumbria
Going back to this programme in 2019, after sending a complaint in 2019, which I followed up in late 2020, the BBC has finally responded.
I asked what they would do to compensate UK farmers for the damage caused by biased reporting, the response is below, you will need to make your own judgment.
In my view, the action taken is not good enough, and anywhere near to compensating for the damage caused.
"Dear xxxx
Thank you for contacting us again.
The Executive Complaints Unit has partially upheld the complaint, regarding impartiality, as below:
“Given that the vast majority of beef on sale in Britain is from British farms, and not produced in ways shown on the programme there should have been a very clear distinction made in the farming systems. But there was not and the presenter spoke to a British audience when she spoke of her own intentions in relation to meat. The audience would have been left with the very clear view that British meat is produced in the same ways as the rest of the world.
And:
A single view was expressed with no range of views being acknowledged.
The BBC’s Guidelines on Impartiality say “When dealing with ‘controversial subjects’, we must ensure a wide range of significant views and perspectives are given due weight and prominence, particularly when the controversy is active”. The ECU agreed that the subject-matter of the programme was controversial in significant respects. While aspects of the environmental impact of global meat production may be matters of established fact or scientific consensus, there has been a continuing public debate about the sustainability of meat production, with the implied suggestion that reducing one’s personal meat consumption is ethically preferable. The presenter of the programme set out the issues in these terms:
"As demand increases, so do greenhouse gas emissions, so does pollution, so does the destruction of biodiversity, which leads to one very obvious question. Should we just stop eating meat?"
Early in the programme she said:
"I don't think the general public has any idea about what's going on to produce the bacon they fry up for breakfast."
And she ended the programme by asking viewers to consider their own behaviour, in what was effectively a call to action:
"Amidst all the bad news about the damage that our modern world is causing to our planet, this is one problem we can all do something about. We can each decide what kind of relationship we want to have with the natural world. Every day, with every meal, we can choose where our meat comes from, how much of it to eat and even whether to eat it at all."
In this context the range of farming methods used to supply consumers and their relative environmental impact was of relevance to viewers. Traditional grass-based methods of livestock production, prevalent in some sectors of meat production in Britain and many other countries, account for a significant element of global output[1], but these were not discussed in the programme, beyond a reference to “Some farmers around the world…rearing livestock in a way that takes better care of the planet, using farming methods that support soil health without the need for chemical fertilisers and pesticides”, illustrated by the untypical example of a smallholder in Wales who raised chickens for his family’s consumption. As a result, viewers received a partial analysis of the impact of livestock farming on the global environment and biodiversity, based almost exclusively on intensive farming methods and of limited application to the choices open to UK consumers. In the judgement of the ECU, this fell below the BBC’s standards of impartiality in relation to controversial subjects.
Accuracy: Not upheld
Impartiality: Upheld
[1] According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation, intensive systems provide less than 15% of beef or milk production while accounting for about 60% of global pork or chicken meat.”
Here is a link to the full finding: https://www.bbc.co.uk/contact/ecu/meat-a-threat-to-our-planet-bbc-one-25-november-2019
Further action was taken, where the finding was reported to the Board of BBC Content and discussed with the programme-makers concerned.
Thanks again for taking the time to get in touch. We understand how strongly you feel on the subject and we make feedback like this available across the BBC.
BBC Complaints Team
www.bbc.co.uk/complaints
I asked what they would do to compensate UK farmers for the damage caused by biased reporting, the response is below, you will need to make your own judgment.
In my view, the action taken is not good enough, and anywhere near to compensating for the damage caused.
"Dear xxxx
Thank you for contacting us again.
The Executive Complaints Unit has partially upheld the complaint, regarding impartiality, as below:
“Given that the vast majority of beef on sale in Britain is from British farms, and not produced in ways shown on the programme there should have been a very clear distinction made in the farming systems. But there was not and the presenter spoke to a British audience when she spoke of her own intentions in relation to meat. The audience would have been left with the very clear view that British meat is produced in the same ways as the rest of the world.
And:
A single view was expressed with no range of views being acknowledged.
The BBC’s Guidelines on Impartiality say “When dealing with ‘controversial subjects’, we must ensure a wide range of significant views and perspectives are given due weight and prominence, particularly when the controversy is active”. The ECU agreed that the subject-matter of the programme was controversial in significant respects. While aspects of the environmental impact of global meat production may be matters of established fact or scientific consensus, there has been a continuing public debate about the sustainability of meat production, with the implied suggestion that reducing one’s personal meat consumption is ethically preferable. The presenter of the programme set out the issues in these terms:
"As demand increases, so do greenhouse gas emissions, so does pollution, so does the destruction of biodiversity, which leads to one very obvious question. Should we just stop eating meat?"
Early in the programme she said:
"I don't think the general public has any idea about what's going on to produce the bacon they fry up for breakfast."
And she ended the programme by asking viewers to consider their own behaviour, in what was effectively a call to action:
"Amidst all the bad news about the damage that our modern world is causing to our planet, this is one problem we can all do something about. We can each decide what kind of relationship we want to have with the natural world. Every day, with every meal, we can choose where our meat comes from, how much of it to eat and even whether to eat it at all."
In this context the range of farming methods used to supply consumers and their relative environmental impact was of relevance to viewers. Traditional grass-based methods of livestock production, prevalent in some sectors of meat production in Britain and many other countries, account for a significant element of global output[1], but these were not discussed in the programme, beyond a reference to “Some farmers around the world…rearing livestock in a way that takes better care of the planet, using farming methods that support soil health without the need for chemical fertilisers and pesticides”, illustrated by the untypical example of a smallholder in Wales who raised chickens for his family’s consumption. As a result, viewers received a partial analysis of the impact of livestock farming on the global environment and biodiversity, based almost exclusively on intensive farming methods and of limited application to the choices open to UK consumers. In the judgement of the ECU, this fell below the BBC’s standards of impartiality in relation to controversial subjects.
Accuracy: Not upheld
Impartiality: Upheld
[1] According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation, intensive systems provide less than 15% of beef or milk production while accounting for about 60% of global pork or chicken meat.”
Here is a link to the full finding: https://www.bbc.co.uk/contact/ecu/meat-a-threat-to-our-planet-bbc-one-25-november-2019
Further action was taken, where the finding was reported to the Board of BBC Content and discussed with the programme-makers concerned.
Thanks again for taking the time to get in touch. We understand how strongly you feel on the subject and we make feedback like this available across the BBC.
BBC Complaints Team
www.bbc.co.uk/complaints