To promote arable and horticultural farmers at the forefront of ethical farming in the UK, PETA has launched its first-ever Farming Awards – and the winners range from a mushroom farm in Kent (IC Mushrooms) to a producer of edible flowers in East Sussex (Aweside Farm). One of the awards went to a former dairy and beef farmer (Northwood Farm) who relocated all his cows to Hillside Animal Sanctuary with the help of Stockfree Farming and switched to producing cereals. Other winners include soya producers Richard Cole and Tofurei, seaweed farm SHORE, and Scilly Organics, which provides fresh vegetable boxes. For the full list of winners, click here.

“From farmers of nutrient-packed microgreens to juicy tomatoes, every winner of this brand-new award is showing excellence in their field,” says PETA Director of Vegan Corporate Projects Dawn Carr. “PETA is delighted to recognise these sowers of compassion and encourages all farmers to grow plants and leave behind the heartbreak and violence of raising animals for food.”

Farming animals for food is a sad business. In today’s meat, egg, dairy, and fishing industries, piglets’ tails may be docked without painkillers, chickens’ throats are cut while they’re still conscious, cows are forcibly separated from their beloved calves, and fish are cut open while they’re still alive.

A recent National Farmers’ Union survey of over 1,000 English and Welsh farmers shows shrinking beef and sheep sectors. Farmers who switch to harvesting vegetables, grains, pulses, and fruits not only reduce animal suffering but also help the planet: animal agriculture is a leading cause of environmental destruction, as it requires massive amounts of land, food, energy, and water while emitting huge quantities of greenhouse gases. Researchers at the University of Oxford recently determined that current agricultural systems make it impossible to meet climate commitments even if all other sources of greenhouse gas emissions were eliminated.

PETA – whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat” and which opposes speciesism, a human-supremacist worldview – released a video last year celebrating crop farmers across the country.

For more information, please visit PETA.org.uk or follow the group on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.