Roaming Roosters and MP join forces to give Great British Food their vote

Home grown grub got the thumbs up from Pendle MP Andrew Stephenson as he spoke out in support of the newly launched ‘Great British Food Gets My Vote’ campaign.

The campaign, launched by the NFU, urges politicians to back British farming to highlight the importance of food production in the UK and ask the British public to continue buying British food and supporting British farming.

Andrew said: “Right now, British farmers produce around 60% of our food supply, which is 15% less than production rates in 1991; and it doesn’t end there.

“Farming leaders warned this week that, if farming continues at its current rate, by 2040 we will need to import almost half of our food to meet demand as the population continues to rise.

“These figures raise serious implications for the UK economy, food security and jobs unless we support the farming industry and help them to improve and increase productivity.”

“Bizarrely, as supply goes down, demand is rising, with more and more people looking to buy British reared produce.”

Fittingly, Andrew chose Pendle sustainable food retailer, Roaming Roosters, to demonstrate his support.

Since opening its doors in 2012 the business became a natural ambassador for fair food and farming, and it too is backing the campaign.

George Cropper, farm shop manager, said: “All meat reared for the farm shop and The Olde Spot Bistro is reared by local farmers and we buy from them direct, cutting out the auction process to be able to offer a better price for both our farmers and consumers.

“The huge growth of the business shows just how important buying British is to shoppers concerned about the traceability and welfare of their food and the journey it has taken from the farm to their plate.

“We are fully behind the campaign and ask our customers to support it by continuing to buy British.”

Launching the campaign, NFU President Meurig Raymond, said: “Rising consumer demand for British produce means it is crucial that farmers are given support to grow supply.

“With the right policy solutions at an EU and UK Government level and some collaborative supply chain strategies, British growers will be able to increase their productivity to meet this challenge.

“The horse meat scandal of early 2013 illustrated the dangers of long, complex supply chains and many retailers say that they want to work with British farmers to stock more British produce. “Let’s create an environment which really means farming businesses can invest. Let’s address market failure and iron-out volatility to enable the entire food chain to grow supply.”