Stuart Carter

How the public can help back British farming!🇬🇧 British farming will not be saved by warm words on Back British Farming Day and forgotten in the supermarket aisle the rest of the year. The public already trusts farmers. The practical test is whether that trust becomes a market - and a political signal - that making food here, to British standards, is still worth doing.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ 1. Buy British on purpose - Look for clear UK origin, the Red Tractor logo, and the British Lion mark on eggs. “Packed in the UK” is not the same as grown or reared here. Where price allows, choose British meat, dairy, potatoes, cereals, veg and fruit first. Consumer demand is what keeps supermarket buyers committed to UK supply. Awareness of Red Tractor is now around three-quarters of adults - use the mark. 2. Shorten the chain - Farm shops, farmers’ markets, veg-box schemes, pick-your-own and direct meat boxes put more of the retail price with the producer. Ask who grew it. Most local sellers will tell you. 3. Eat with the British seasons - Asparagus in spring, berries in summer, brassicas and roots in winter, British apples in autumn. Seasonal buying reduces pressure for out-of-season imports and matches what UK growers can actually supply well. 4. Ask when you eat out - Pubs, cafés, restaurants and workplace canteens respond to customers. “Is the beef British?” and “Do you use British milk and eggs?” are fair questions. Repeat custom for places that can answer yes is more powerful than a one-off complaint. 5. Push public kitchens - Schools, hospitals, care homes and councils buy food at scale. Many people already think those kitchens should serve more UK-grown food. Write to the head teacher, governors, trust or councillor. Public procurement that prefers British produce to equivalent standards is one of the highest-leverage changes available. 6. Cut waste - Wasted British food wastes the farmer’s work, water, feed and fertiliser. Planning meals, storing produce properly and using leftovers is unglamorous support, but it is real. 7. See a farm - Open Farm Sunday and farm open days close the gap between field and fridge. People who understand how food is produced are more likely to pay for standards rather than only for the lowest sticker price. 8. Amplify farmers, not just slogans - Follow actual farmers and organisations such as the NFU. Share what they are dealing with — weather, disease, input costs, labelling — without turning every post into a culture war. Quiet, factual support reaches people who will never attend a rally. 9. Tell your MP - Trade deals, import standards, planning for reservoirs and livestock buildings, seasonal labour, and whether public money rewards food production as well as environmental goods all get decided in Westminster and the devolved capitals. A short, specific email beats a vague social-media pile-on. A note on cost - Household budgets are tight. Nobody should be lectured for buying what they can afford. The useful habit is a hierarchy: British when the difference is small; British for the items where standards matter most to you (often meat, eggs and dairy); local or seasonal when you can. Even switching a few weekly staples adds up across millions of baskets.