BBC bosses have been slammed for the 'vegan bias' which the corporation's news services apply to climate change science.

Headlines proclaiming that 'plant-based diet can fight climate change' sprung up as BBC reporters previewed the latest 'Climate Change and Land Use' report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a theme that was echoed across the mainstream press.

But when farming groups got a look at the actual report, they quickly realised that it had recommended no such thing. In fact, the IPCC had endorsed the use of extensive grass-based livestock systems like those used by Scottish farmers.

As Scottish beef farmer and former NFUS president Jim Walker observed this week, the IPCC report was all about stopping people 'burning down rainforests to make way for Zebu genetics cattle', but the BBC hadn't reported it that way.

"The vegan lobby couldn't convince the majority of people to follow their ideology for health reasons, or for moral reasons – but they've jumped on the environmental bandwagon, and the media has fallen for it," he said.

Amid reports that farmers across the country are cancelling their direct debit payments for the BBC licence fee, NFU Scotland vice president Martin Kennedy said that the union had written 'in the strongest terms' to the corporation to complain – and encouraged frustrated farmers to follow suit with letters of their own.

"The BBC nationally need to take a real good look at themselves and start reporting the real facts in a balanced manner instead of misrepresenting views and reports," said Mr Kennedy.

"The IPCC report calls for change in all industries, and I fully agree that all industries including agriculture must change. But if you read the BBC headlines or listened to the national news, you would believe the IPCC report gives its support to a vegetarian or vegan diet. It did not.

"The IPCC news release states: 'Balanced diets featuring plant-based foods, such as coarse grains, legumes, fruits and vegetables, and animal-sourced food produced sustainably in low greenhouse gas emission systems, present major opportunities for adaptation to and limiting climate change'," said Mr Kennedy.

"Instead, the BBC tarred Scottish and UK farming with the same climate change stick as irresponsible countries across the world. Our industry is not based on deforestation; it does not have feedlot systems where traceability is non-existent, and we do not have an attitude where profit is more important than animal welfare."

English NFU president Minette Batters took to Twitter to ask why farming was being labelled the villain above other industries: “Agriculture is the only industry that is both a carbon source and a carbon sink. So why can't everyone focus on the serious challenges like our clothing, technology, cars, holidays, food waste?”

She challenged major media outlets over the anti-meat messages they had been spreading: “Can you all sleep at night? I represent 50,000 farmers many of which are feeling isolated and terrorised and all because of your deeply flawed approach to tackling climate change."