Phillip Schofield, 57, was joined by his This Morning co-host Holly Willoughby for the show’s mid-week programme and they welcomed vegan restaurant owner Lucy Watson and farmer Abi Reader to debate the new Tesco advert. With the latter expressing discomfort for the way the advertisement was worded, the former Made In Chelsea star moved onto the ethics of meat products, leading the ITV presenter to step in.
The latest advert from Tesco to promote meat-free alternatives sees a young girl arrive home from school and tell her father, “I don’t want to eat animals any more.”
Although the character admits “I love my meat,” he goes on to prepare a casserole for his daughter with the inclusion of Tesco’s Plant Chef Meat-Free Cumberland-style Sausages.
It has left viewers divided over turning a beef product into a meat-free alternative, with both guests on the show offering opposing opinions.
Feeling strongly about the ethics on how meat products are created, Lucy expressed her views with Phillip interjecting to try and balance the debate.
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Explaining her concerns over the meat industry and why the advert is a good thing, the guest said: “I think it gives children an inset perception of meat because I feel a lot of children are brought up not actually knowing what they’re eating.
“I didn’t know what I was eating for a long time.
“It was only because I moved to a farm and I realised the animals were going off to be killed, I then put two and two together, not even then being told I was eating animals.
“We’re taught as children to love animals and to care for them.”
“And most children do love animals and if they knew they were getting brutally slaughtered to eat, I think they’d be quite shocked,” she continued.
Stepping in, Phillip told her: “I think many farmers, obviously this is a very contentious issue, using the word “brutal” …”
As he tried to continue, Lucy said over the top of him: “They have their throats slit,” to which the presenter argued the opposing view.
“That’s not necessarily the common practice,” Phillip commented, to which the guest strongly disagreed as he told him: “It is common practice.”
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Phillip continued: “They’re dead first,” with Lucy once agin expressing her opposing view to the issue.
The host cut the discussion on the matter to get back to the debate about the advert, telling the vegan restaurant owner: “We can’t get into a conversation about the techniques here.”
Although she was shut down, Lucy agreed with the host the debate was focussed on the advert.
Lucy questioned Abi earlier in the interview about how the cattle are handled, asking: ‘Is it true about 70 percent of the farms in the UK are actually factory farms which everyone knows is extremely cruel?”
The farmer replied: “No, I’ve not heard that statistic. I am one of your average farmers. I’m not a factory farm.
“What is the definition of a factory farm?” she asked the vegan campaigner.
Restaurant owner Lucy said: “Well, when they’re enclosed in horrendous conditions and don’t see the light of day for their whole lives.”
Abi assured her fellow guest, telling her: “I would be amazed if there were many farms in the UK that did not see the light of day.”
This Morning airs weekdays at 10.30am on ITV.
