Arriva Veganuary row: 80 per cent say adverts should stay on Shropshire buses

Steve Charmley, the deputy leader at Shropshire Council, caused a stir when he took to Twitter to criticise vegan adverts on the side of Arriva buses in Shropshire.

But four out of five people disagree with the Conservative Whittington councillor's call to remove the adverts, according to a poll on ShropshireStar.com which more than 10,000 people have taken part in.

Councillor Charmley criticised Arriva for running Veganuary adverts in "a great county built on agriculture", but has since removed the tweets from his private Twitter account.

He spoke to the Shropshire Star afterwards, saying: "We want to promote farming in the county and that is why I have asked for a meeting about Arriva on this.

"It is rammed down people’s throats, but I don’t object to people choosing what they want to eat.

"I appreciate they have commercial revenue from this, but this is an industry that brings a lot of income into Shropshire.

"Some of the propaganda that is being put out there is wrong and that is what I have my beef with. I stand by what I have said 100 per cent. However, I made a mistake of targeting the bus advert - it is the story behind it that is factually incorrect. It has to be accepted that the country needs beef and diary farms to produce the manure which is then spread on the fields to allow the crops to grow.

"I am not going to go out there and say that people should be eating meat but the British farming industry could be hugely damaged by this. It is one of the most safely and highly regulated industries in the world.

"Everybody is entitled to their views, that is the beauty of free speech. I have had people from both sides contact me on this. Some of the views have been disgusting while other people have been very supportive. ”

Michelle D’Arcy Jewell, from the Shropshire Vegans and Veggies group that financed the adverts, said they had no desire to see local farmers out of work but wanted the council to consider greener alternatives to animal agriculture.

Readers have had plenty to say on the issue, with many voicing strong opinions about the adverts online.

Many readers have said that while they may not agree with Veganuary, that does not mean the adverts should be removed. While others have highlighted how many farmers also grow vegetables consumed by vegans.

Bluebells posted on the Shropshire Star website: "Mr Charmley will have to realise peoples eating habits are changing, and farmers will need to diversify if they want to stay in business.

"People are now realising how cruel intensive farming is, and the fact that all the big supermarkets are now selling more vegan products just shows that more people than ever do not want to consume meat and dairy anymore.

"The advert on the bus is not misleading or graphic, so therefore does not break the rules of the Advertising Standards Agency."

daveevans2010 added: "I object to councillors advertising on every lamp-post they can find on a regular basis."

And Oswestry Thinker said: "What we are all losing sight of is that, for whatever reason being vegan is a personal choice.

"Those people with coeliac disease (no gluten and often no dairy allowed) don't have any choice. Eat these foods - and seriously affect your health. One per cent of the population have this condition."

Jsmithjeb commented: "Is this guy for real?! What does he think vegans eat? Does he think vegans don’t eat plant based products produced by farming?!"

Meanwhile on Facebook, Wendy Humphreys questioned what all the fuss was about and Mick Sparham Thompkins pointed out: "A great bit of advertising, it has stirred up society and got them talking! No such thing as bad publicity."

Bex Handley said: "It's no different to Stoptober. Dry January etc. Nobody has to do it. And no different to a butcher paying for that advertising space. Its an advert. What's the issue?"

Wayne Ford added: "His argument is pointless. Agricultural Shropshire. Does that not mean growing vegetables etc as well as rearing animals."

Paul O'Neill said: "I don’t see the problem with the advert. If you don’t want to give up meat just ignore it. Let’s not go down the slippery slope of censorship."

Emma Jansen added: "It’s interesting how the argument is stating that the advert is forcing choices, but the councillor wants to drive agriculture and farming in the county - understandably he’s doing exactly what he’s complaining that Arriva are doing with their advertising."