Henry Smith MP has hailed the announcement from the Government on Back British Farming Day (Wednesday, 13th September) that it is now supporting a ‘Buy British’ section on supermarket online stores, following an open letter signed by the Crawley MP and more than 100 other parliamentarians.
Henry had 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 119 MPs states customers would have “greater power in their choices”, enabling them to support the nation’s farmers “quickly and easily” while buying home-grown produce and reducing environmental impact.
Henry said;
“Thousands of farmers and consumers across the nation have supported our call for a ‘Buy British’ section, now backed by the UK Government.
“This simple change on a webpage would help to ensure home-grown food is easy to find, supporting farmers and helping consumers cut down on food miles.
“Buying British is good for local food producers, good for the environment and good for consumer choice. It’s a win all round and I hope supermarkets take up this voluntary initiative.”
The open letter penned by Bosworth MP Dr Luke Evans and signed by Henry Smith MP is supported by the National Farmers’ Union (NFU), backed by farmers and endorsed by the Government.
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 Environment, Food & Rural Affairs 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.
An NFU petition in support of the campaign has, by Back British Farming Day on 13th September, reached over 17,000 signatures in only six days.
Dr Luke Evans MP commented;
“I’m delighted the Government have endorsed my ‘Buy British’ button campaign which will make it easier for consumers to buy home-grown produce, support farmers and help to protect our environment.
“Supermarkets say they are keen to support our food producers, yet this easy signposting doesn’t currently exist for the millions of people who prefer to do their food shop online.
“Farmers, consumers and now the Government have all supported my call for the ‘Buy British’ section… I hope that the supermarkets will respond to the widespread demand for this simple change.”
The Secretary of State for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs, Thérèse Coffey, said;
“This Government will always back British farmers who produce some of the highest quality food in the world, contribute billions to our economy and are the custodians of our countryside.”
The President of the National Farmers’ Union, Minette Batters, added;
“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 home-grown food.
“We know from our own independent survey that 86 per cent 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.”
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