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2018 Farmers Guardian Farming Hero: Dr Jude Capper
Dr Jude Capper is passionate about dispelling myths about the UK livestock industry, which at times have placed her in the firing line of animal activists. Clemmie Gleeson speaks to one of the UK’s leading livestock sustainability consultants about the drive that inspires her to fight back.
Last year Dr Jude Capper won the Farmers Guardian’s Farming Hero Award and with good reason. Her tenacity, passion and dedication in promoting
agriculture to a wider consumer audience are just some of the reasons the accolade, decided by the FG team, was unanimous.
Too much is said about meat and dairy industries which is not based on science, says livestock sustainability consultant Dr Jude Capper.
She says: “I get very cross when I see things saying ‘give up meat to save the planet’. As a scientist, I believe we should have an evidence basis.
“Consumers do not have time to research and understand all the issues. We have to communicate science better if we want people to make science-based decisions.”
Jude’s passion for the countryside was borne through an interest in horses from the age of nine.
She says: “I remember developing an awareness that whatever was growing in the fields was going to be food.”
She studied agriculture with animal science at Harper Adams, but did not have a particular career path in mind when she graduated. Instead, she decided to continue studying and stayed at Harper to complete a PhD in ruminant nutrition and behaviour.
“While I was writing up my PhD, I was invited to do some post-doctoral research at Cornell University, USA. I went as an animal scientist, researching milk fatty acids, and started working on carbon footprints just as the US dairy industry was starting to think about sustainability. I could not have planned my career; it evolved over time.”
Sustainable agriculture is ‘such a vital, important issue,’ she says. “If we want the world to be a better place, we need to do everything we can to make it happen.”
Jude’s time at Cornell was not only pivotal in terms of her research, but also with honing her communication skills.
She says: “I remember going to a conference and listening to a man speaking on a very dry topic, but rather than being boring he put it all into context and made it very simple.
“I realised if he could do that with something theoretical and complex, then it should be even easier with sustainability issues that are important to everybody, leading to positive change.”
Experience since then has taught her the best results come from knowing her audience, breaking her information down into short simple messages, checking for understanding and leaving room for further questions.
However, the advent of social media has brought further challenges in communicating complicated ideas much more succinctly. Jude’s work now is split three ways. She says: “I mathematically model the environmental impact of livestock production, so for example if we use a different feed, production system or breed of livestock, what does that do to the carbon footprint of the meat or milk?
“I spend a lot of time myth-busting through presentations and social media, which brings in the communication aspect. I also produce scientific papers and literature reviews for animal health
She says: “I remember going to a conference and listening to a man speaking on a very dry topic, but rather than being boring he put it all into context and made it very simple.
“I realised if he could do that with something theoretical and complex, then it should be even easier with sustainability issues that are important to everybody, leading to positive change.”
Experience since then has taught her the best results come from knowing her audience, breaking her information down into short simple messages, checking for understanding and leaving room for further questions.
However, the advent of social media has brought further challenges in communicating complicated ideas much more succinctly. Jude’s work now is split three ways.
She says: “I mathematically model the environmental impact of livestock production, so for example if we use a different feed, production system or breed of livestock, what does that do to the carbon footprint of the meat or milk?
“I spend a lot of time myth-busting through presentations and social media, which brings in the communication aspect. I also produce scientific papers and literature reviews for animal health colleagues the previous year, but nothing had been planned until Jude spoke about it at the conference.
She says: “I was amazed at how it took off. Overnight, my Twitter and Instagram went mad. There were some very positive comments, but also lots of negatives with activists jumping on it.”
Throughout the month (and beyond), Jude has been the target of hateful messages from activists who disagree with her views.
She says: “One consequence of social media is that you can be unpleasant to people without leaving your sofa. Most people would not be so vile in a face-to-face situation.
“There were the usual comments about dairy being scary or evil, which were unpleasant, but not personal. Then there were quite a lot of activists who would say I was a rapist or murderer, or saying they hoped I get cancer again.
“I have found it relatively easy to remove myself from those comments, as they are simply anonymous online presences, although there are times when I wonder how serious I should take this stuff.”
Despite such backlash, Jude’s commitment has not wavered.
“I am really stubborn. If I back off, that is what [the activists] want, so I am not going to give up.”
When asked to quantify the impact of #Februdairy, Jude explains it is difficult to measure or quantify.
“There was no plan, press pack or budget. I do wish that some activists did not hijack the hashtags, but the campaign did still have a very positive impact.
“It pulled some of us in the industry together, so we all felt even more positive about our roles within dairy production.
“We got quite a lot of media coverage with zero funding, which was excellent. Most of it was really positive, apart from publications such as ‘Plant-based News’, which was only to be expected.
“The spin-off milk pint challenge with international rugby players downing pints of milk was amazing. The positives definitely outweighed the negatives from my point of view.
“Anything which encouraged farmers to talk about what they do is good. It was not about trying to make people eat dairy, but encouraging those who choose to do so to feel happy and confident about their food choices.”
On a personal note, Jude has endured a particularly tough year, but is celebrating the end of a gruelling period of cancer treatment, having been diagnosed with the disease for the second time in October 2018.
She says: “Last year has been a bit rubbish, with months of surgery and chemotherapy, so it will be really nice to hopefully feel relatively normal.”
She is a keen runner and started training for the Oxford half marathon after finishing her treatment.
She says: “I was able to run up until my surgery and then again six weeks after, but then until I started chemotherapy I had a central line fitted, which meant I could not run.
“Instead, I decided to walk every day. I had chemotherapy for 128 days, so decided to walk every day and ask for sponsorship to raise money for Cancer Research UK. It gave me a purpose.”
Personal triumph
Jude’s partner, Prof David Barrett, who is a professor of bovine medicine and reproduction at the University of Bristol, suggested her initial target of 500 miles.
Jude was determined to push herself even further, covering an amazing 863 miles, nearly three million steps, and raising £3,710.
Professionally, Jude says she will be keeping doing more of the same and is booked to give presentations in the UK and abroad, including Australia and Madrid.
She is also committed to continuing communicating her messages via social media. The area of research will see her continue with her sustainability studies.
Jude does not believe plant-based diets are necessarily becoming more popular and again queries the actual evidence behind such suggestion.
She says: “I am not convinced there is a huge swing in numbers of people eating a vegan or vegetarian diet. Is it product diversity we enjoy or are we turning away from meat or dairy?
“It is not clear whether plant-based foods are increasing as replacements for animal-based foods, or simply because people enjoy them in addition to meat and dairy. I do not think anyone has a real handle on that.”
Next year’s #Februdairy campaign will simply be about positivity: “There is no value having a mud-slinging argument with someone asking rhetorical questions.
“We have such a wonderful story to tell with beautiful images and landscapes. It is such an opportunity, so why not take advantage of it?”