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Brexit negotiations key to Love British Food calls on
driving innovation and farming’s youth to promote
British food in new campaign
food production
Brexit negotiations must deliver detail for largest
manufacturing sector – food and drink, says NFU
FU President
Minette Batters
said: “High quality,
safe and
affordable British
food is a public
right and needs to be placed at
the centre of Brexit negotiations.
“Whilst I welcome the Prime
Minister’s recognition that we
should make the most of the
opportunities presented by our
withdrawal, now is the time for
detail to be placed on the table.
“The future of our trading
relationship is up there with the
most critical issues facing the
British farming industry. We
absolutely need to get this right if
farming is to keep delivering for
Britain’s economy, environment
and food security. It is our
ambition to work with Government
in creating a new agricultural
policy that drives innovation and
food production.
“The Prime Minister is right to
publicly recognise that British
farmers adhere to some of the
highest standards in the world and
that those standards will not be
compromised in a future trade
deal.
“However, there are less than
400 days to go until Brexit. Time is
N
www.farmingmonthly.co.uk
now ticking for the diverse range
of businesses that make up the
British food and farming sector.
Many farmers are now making
business decisions for the next five
or even ten years without knowing
what trading environment they will
be operating in. The time has now
come for both sides of the
negotiation to come to the table in
a meaningful way to agree a way
forward which will ensure that
farming and food production does
have a resilient future outside the
EU.
“The future of our trading
relationship is up there with the
most critical issues facing the
British farming industry. We
absolutely need to get this right
if farming is to keep delivering
for Britain’s economy,
environment and food security”
“Farming is the bedrock of the
largest manufacturing sector –
food and drink - which contributes
£112 billion to the nation’s
economy and provides 3.8 million
jobs. This cannot be forgotten at
the negotiating table.”
The Love British Food
campaign is calling upon
young farmers to help
promote British food to
consumers in a series of
activities planned for the
build-up to Easter and
during Autumn’s British
Food Fortnight.
lexia Robinson,
founder of Love
British Food,
explains: “If ‘British
Food’ was a brand
like any other it
would have a TV and marketing
campaign telling consumers about
the superb standards of British
food and promoting the buy British
message. It is not; but what it
does have is a network ‘army’ of
superb, inspirational, young
farmers across the country who
are increasingly taking it upon
themselves to do what they can to
promote their industry whether via
social media or through the deep
reach they have in their
communities. We want to tap into
their energy and get them all to be
walking, talking advertisements for
British food.”
Fourteen young farmers are
leading the campaign: Richard
Bower, Milly Fyfe, Ed Ford,
Georgie Gater-Moore, Luke
Winton, Hannah Binns, Ethan
Kinney, Katie Smith, Chris Manley,
Linsey Martin, Mary Ankers, Jack
Hodgeson, Josh Dowbiggin and
Harriet Wilson. Co-op Farming
Pioneers will be taking part and
NFYFC is supporting. Alexia says:
“It is a huge honour working with
these young men and women;
they are all-natural leaders who
are already individually doing so
much to promote British food and
we hope that uniting them under
the umbrella of this campaign will
harness their combined energies
to create a living, national
advertisement for British food.”
Activities kick off this Spring
with a ‘My name is…’ social media
campaign in the build-up to Easter,
the next major food shopping
decision-making time for
consumers. Love British Food is
calling upon young farmers to post
a photograph of themselves and
their farm on Twitter and Instagram
saying very simply what they
produce and highlighting a high
standard they adhere to. Using
the hook ‘My name is…’ and
hashtags #BritishFoodisGreat
A
#LoveBritishFood, the aim is to
make the link between farmers,
food producers and top quality
British food. Celebrity farmers are
being invited to post ‘My name
is…’ messages in support.
Harriet Wilson, Senior
Agriculture Manager for Co-op
said: “Co-op are long term
supporters of Love British Food
and it’s great our young Farming
Pioneers will be involved in this
campaign. We’re very proud of the
high quality produce our farmers
supply to our stores across the
UK, supporting Co-op’s
commitment to British food and
drink, which we know is something
our customers want. “
Richard Bower, youngest ever
candidate for Vice President at the
NFU and a young farmer from
Staffordshire said: “I am incredibly
passionate about British food and
farming and really looking forward
to encouraging other young
farmers to shout about what they
are doing around the UK. We
should all be proud to be involved
with the British food industry and
this campaign will really help
promote what we do.”
The campaign extends into the
Autumn when young farmers will
be challenged to do ONE thing
during British Food Fortnight, 22nd
Sept – 7th Oct, to promote British
food. This could be as si mple as
posting a tweet or displaying a
banner at farm gate; or, for the
more ambitious, standing outside
food shops on the high street or
by meat aisles or in supermarket
car parks wearing ‘British Food is
Great’ t-shirts and explaining to
people why they should buy
British; visiting their local school to
give a talk; or helping a local
establishment, such as their local
pub, set up a new British supply
chain. Love British Food is
working with the 14 young farmer
leaders and the NFYFC to create a
menu of options, from the simple
to the more challenging, that will
be a call to action for young
farmers across the country to
choose from.
March 2018 | Farming Monthly | 07