On ‘Back British Farming Day’, the Government announced its support for a ‘Buy British’ section on supermarket’s online stores, following an open letter signed by Theo Clarke MP.
The Stafford MP joined calls for the ‘Buy British’ tab which would collate produce from across the UK when people are shopping for groceries. An open letter from 120 cross-Party MPs states customers would have “greater power in their choices”, enabling them to support the nation’s farmers “quickly and easily” while buying homegrown produce and reducing environmental impact.
The letter champions the work of Britain’s farmers in ensuring food security, supporting strong local economies and preserving and protecting the environment, while empowering the public to be able to make easy choices in how they shop for their food.
The Food and Farming Secretary, Thérèse Coffey, has backed calls for industry-led action to signpost customers to ‘Buy British’ when they shop online and will support campaigns to endorse the taste and quality of home-grown meat and dairy products.
Ms Clarke said that the successful campaign would help “Thousands of farmers and consumers across Stafford and the nation, who have supported our call for a ‘Buy British’ section, now backed by the Government. This simple change on a webpage would help to ensure homegrown food is easy to find, supporting farmers and helping consumers cut down on food miles. Buying British is good for local food producers in Stafford, good for the environment and good for consumer choice. It’s a win all round”.
Minette Batters, President of the National Farmers Union, said “Britain’s farmers and growers are truly inspirational, and it is heart-warming to know the public really value the work we do in producing fantastic homegrown food. We know from our own independent survey that 86% of the public want to buy more British food, but it is often tricky to determine what products are produced in the UK and this simple change would help the shoppers do that.”
