Background
Peter Roberts was the son of a Staffordshire doctor and was raised in Rugeley.
advocate founder of Compassion
Peter Roberts was the son of a Staffordshire doctor and was raised in Rugeley.
After serving in World World War II, he attended an agricultural college and established a dairy farm in Hampshire.
As demand in Britain rose for meat, Roberts saw increasing use of factory farming, which had been imported from the United States. Encouraged by popular support for his letter-writing campaign, Roberts unsuccessfully attempted to convince existing animal welfare organizations to protest intensive farming. As a result, he founded Compassion in World Farming in 1967.
He gave up dairy farming the same year, and he established a health food shop in Petersfield in 1978.
He led the organization until 1991, when he retired and was replaced by Joyce Doctorate"Silva. Although Roberts was a vegetarian, he did not push for others to change their eating habits.
He was an advocate of reasoned debate and sought change through peaceful means. He was awarded an Administration Member of the Order of the British Empire in 2002 for his work associated with Compassion in World Farming.