BBC Radio 2's Jeremy Vine interviewed a "militant" vegan while the presenter's meaty lunch lay on the table in plain view.

Australian vegan YouTuber Joey Carbstrong appeared on the talk show following the news that UK farmers are increasingly receiving death threats from animal rights activists. Carbstrong, who has been a vegan for four years after spending time in prison and turning his life around, is currently on a tour of the UK taking part in daytime vigils and protests with other campaigners. He claimed this week that meat industry groups accusing activists of distressing protests and trespassing are "playing the victim".

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Yet when he appeared on Vine's radio show on Tuesday afternoon (30 January) he took offence to being in close proximity to the presenter's ham sandwich.

Vine started the interview by asking if Carbstrong, whose real name is Armstrong, was angry today or "just generally", but the activist ignored the question and launched straight into a criticism of the sandwich.

He said: "Well, I'm a bit upset to see your sandwich has a piece of a pig's body in there. A dead pig that didn't want to die."

When Vine tells listeners that there is a ham sandwich on the table, Carbstrong corrected: "Ham is a euphemism that actually comes from the flesh of a dead pig. I'd like you to call it the dead body of an animal who didn't want to die."

Vine then asked Carbstrong whether the cheese in the sandwich was also a problem, to which he received an explanation of the problems of dairy farming. The activist said: "The cheese comes from a mother who had her children taken away from her, and had hands shoved in her anus and was artificially inseminated with bull semen.

"Probably why vegans would say that a dairy farmer is akin to a rapist," before clarifying that he himself would not use words like that to describe a farmer without discussing their practices with them.

Unsurprisingly, Vine was put off his ham and cheese sandwich. He said: "Obviously I won't eat this sandwich now. I might never eat it."

But he wanted Carbstrong to clarify if it was really offensive for him just to see the sandwich, and the activist replied: "I believe it's more offensive to actually show me the piece of an animal who didn't want to die than it is to call someone out for it."

Vine later tweeted: "TIP: When interviewing a militant vegan, don't leave a ham sandwich in view."

Just a few days earlier, in Carbstrong's native Australia, vegans stormed a steakhouse in downtown Melbourne chanting at diners eating their dinner. The 35 activists said they were there to "speak up for animals where their dead bodies were being consumed".