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Food

13th Apr 2022

Farmer banned from TikTok for bullying vegan activists

Kieran Galpin

Eating meat is very Lion King, apparently

A Welsh farmer was temporarily banned from TikTok after allegedly “bullying and harassing vegans” encouraging a plant-only diet.

Gareth Wyn Jones was suspended from the popular video-sharing app TikTok for 24 hours after he responded to a video from fellow user The Vegan Teacher, who you may recognise from previous viral moments.

The Vegan Teacher had posted a video that questioned, “Why the f**k aren’t you vegan yet?” to which Jones responded by explaining how the situation is “a whole big circle.”

 

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A post shared by Gareth Wyn Jones (@1garethwynjones)

“This is food that is grown out of the ground, and it is grown here by using cattle manure, so it’s a whole big circle,” he said.

Explaining why he’s not vegan “and never will be”, Jones argued: “because I’m a farmer and I understand the circle of life and there is not such a thing as cruelty free food.

“This is food that is grown out of the ground, and it is grown here by using cattle manure and that is a big part of farming, so it’s a whole big circle,” he added. “Not only do we eat these animals but we use their poo, their manure to grow crops and to grow lovely vegetables to feed you. So it’s all about a balanced diet.”

 

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A post shared by Gareth Wyn Jones (@1garethwynjones)

The following day, Jones was temporarily banned from TikTok for “harassment and bullying.” His account was reinstated after an appeal but he did tell Wales’ Daily Post that this was not the first time it had happened. “I’m not that bothered,” he added.

Vegans have come to blows with farms before, largely on morning talk shows – but Jones emphasised that “people are free to make up their own mind about livestock farming.”

He explained: These groups will keep attacking us and all we can do is to continue what we have been doing for centuries, which is producing food for the nation.”

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