George Monbiot is well-known for his strong environmental views and his weekly blog in The Guardiannewspaper in the UK. He is also well known for not getting on well with UK farmers. During the serious flooding in the Somerset Levels in 2014 he came out blaming grazing, sheep in particular, as the cause.

Two weeks ago he focused on UK chicken farm welfare and took a serious swipe at the Red Tractor brand. Then last week he decided to tackle Irish dairy farmers.

City Sue

As part of their marketing campaign in the UK, Kerrygold have published a small children’s booklet which was distributed free with The Guardian newspaper. It colourfully told the story of “City Sue”, a cow used to indoor life coming to join a herd of outdoor cows, and finding it difficult to fit in at first.

George Monbiot took issue with the fairy story format. He said it was time we told the truth about farming, calling it an objectionable way to advertise.

As a parent I found kid’s books and stories a great way to explain lots of things to growing minds. Such as the model of “Thomas the Tank Engine” at Mallow train station. How many crèche outings start off with the first verse of “the wheels on the bus”? I wonder will there be an exposé next week of how public transport is conning their customers?

Kerrygold

I might have let it go, but the blog then went on to question the merits of the Kerrygold brand. He disputed the image portrayed of small family-run farms by singling out a Teagasc open day last summer on the Browne farm in Killeagh, Co Cork. The fact there was such a large turnout of farmers to see the large dairy farm (820 cows) gave him the indication Ireland was no longer interested in small farms.

And then there was the fact that the Brownes had invested in (horror of horrors) indoor facilities for the winter plus a new milking parlour and calving boxes. The fact that, unlike “City Sue”, the cows would also get some maize and grain, instead of just grass.

Again I was tempted to let it go, afraid of just adding fuel to the fire Monbiot was stoking.

Then on Monday he posted a tweet: “Many congratulations to @-CaffeNero for no longer buying milk from #badgercull areas. Show your support with a celebratory coffee.”

This was the final straw. Farmers whose herds are hit by TB are under serious strain mentally and financially. By siding with a group of career activists and misguided thugs (some with criminal records for previous campaigns), and a large company that was seemingly unwilling to stand up to their threats to protest, George Monbiot has proved he has no regard whatsoever for farmers, whatever size their herd. It is he who is living in a fairy-tale world, devoid of realities, of science and of economics.

Consequences

George Monbiot is a storyteller with a large following. As the writer of a (much smaller) blog myself I feel honoured to have people read what I write. It carries responsibilities.

I know controversy sells newspapers, but there are consequences. Running down farmers and running down well respected local food brands has become a popular pastime in areas where the supermarket shelves are always full and the coffee shop never runs out of milk. The same people demand ever increasing standards but buy whatever is convenient or cheapest.

People like George Monbiot and Katie Hopkins thrive on controversy to gain readers, sell books and pick up TV appearances.

Everyone is entitled to voice their opinions, but like boisterous children’s sports, it all goes fine till someone gets hurt.

The Guardianproudly states that George Monbiot “blogs on environment, social justice, and other things that make him angry”. I think you can tell that this farmer, like many others, has been hurt, and is angry too.