SIR - Tod Bradbury’s letter misleadingly suggests that a vegan diet is better for the planet, citing emissions and resource-use from the production of animal products.

These generic claims obscure the fact that British livestock is internationally renowned for having the highest levels of quality and sustainability. For example, greenhouse gas emissions from UK beef are around half the global average.

Further, British farmers, as custodians of the land, help combat climate change - not contribute to it - through regenerative farming techniques and the production of renewable energy.

The letter fails to consider a normalised environmental harm - the emissions caused by ‘food miles’, or the distance food travels between farms and consumers’ dinner plates. Rather than undertaking a particular diet, consumers that hope to make a positive difference in the environment should seek to purchase produce from local, sustainable farmers and growers - whether that produce is plant-based, meat, or dairy.

There is no easier way to reduce emissions from food miles than by shopping locally, which, in turn, fuels regional economies that depend upon agricultural businesses.

Sabina Roberts, Countryside Alliance