Rethinking Ruminants: the facts from the NFU about British red meat and dairy

24 August 2022

Our Rethinking Ruminants Member Toolkit does a deep dive into the facts and evidence around eating meat. We take a look at the claims and misconceptions around eating meat and ensure you have the facts to hand.

With questions constantly being raised surrounding British livestock and dairy production, it is crucial that our members are equipped with facts and evidence to engage the public in honest, realistic and scientifically evidenced accounts of British agriculture.

That's why the NFU has designed the Rethinking Ruminants Member Toolkit, aimed at supporting our members to confidently communicate key and sometimes, complex messages surrounding:

Alongside these notable areas, the toolkit also considers common claims and misconceptions around alternatives to meat and dairy products, as well as including some top tips for members to engage with the public and positively tell their own personal story of British dairying and livestock farming.

As a public-facing document created to be shared widely with a public audience, our 'The facts about British red meat and milk' booklet outlines common 'myths' surrounding the dairy and livestock sectors.

Its clear messaging explains the truth to counter these misconceptions and highlights the excellent work and high standards of British livestock and dairy production.

Download and share our public facing myth-buster The facts about British red meat and milk.

This member-facing, comprehensive directory of evidence-based facts and figures adds depth and context to the key messages communicated through the Mythbuster, for our members to share in public engagements, with vital concepts distilled into template tweets and other soundbites to be shared via other social media to promote the industry.

Download our Rethinking ruminants directory.

Members called for a set of slides to share with the public in engagements such as council meetings, community groups and otherwise, to counter negative misconceptions surrounding livestock and dairy production.

As an simplistic adaptation of the myth-buster, The facts about British read meat and milk presentation will prove valuable in public engagement, for members to communicate with one voice. Please feel to utilise it in part or in full, as you wish.

There are two eye-catching set of infographics which have been designed for members to share via social media channels, as a regular drumbeat engagement of key messages promoting the livestock and dairy sectors.

Aimed specifically at sharing key, simple concepts surrounding animal welfare, benefits of farming to the environment or the role of red meat and dairy as part of a balanced diet, the infographics are engaging and relevant for a wide public audience.

Letter to accompany the Mythbuster (PDF): This letter can be used as a template to send with the myth-buster, The facts about British read meat and milk presentation.

Letter to a school which is planning to ban meat/dairy (PDF): This is a reactive letter which can be used a template.

Just copy the text and paste the into your email client or word processor.

This toolkit will constantly evolve, as new science and facts emerge and other aspects are currently in development, including letter templates and other documents.

Please feel free to get in touch if you have any ideas on further work that could be produced to support you as an NFU member in this area. Email us here: [email protected].

We hope that you will explore the functions of the toolkit and find it to be a useful and interesting set of facts and figures.

In its varied and adaptable formats, we hope the toolkit will provide confidence to our members to utilise in the face of misinformation, to share with transparency and honesty, the truth of the excellent work that you already do.

See this beautifully illustrated four-page article from Waitrose magazine that explains the whys and wherefores of eating beef.

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