By buying British grown and reared food we support our farmers and it is the best way to ensure food security. Currently the UK imports 60% of what we eat, as consumers we can prefer UK producers by choosing local suppliers, red tractor labelled products, and produce with a union jack on the packaging. Using innovative agricultural advances like salad grown in vertical farming, the UK could produce all the salad it needs, rather than importing it. This will reduce how much food is imported, increasing the sustainability of the food since it travels less miles. In the UK we have high standards of welfare and food production, by buying products from our farmers we support these guaranteed high standards. During 2023 the NFU helped make the case for a 'Buy British' section on supermarket websites, and has introduced a 'British' section on its online shopping site. This will enable us to choose British meat, dairy, fish and fresh produce, making it easy to shop for our favourite British produce as it is online as it is in store. Many retailers display signage and label products with the union jack, check labels that display the origin. Kristy suggests looking on individual products for products grown and reared in Sussex. Supporting our farmers makes sense, for all of us. To achieve net zero, how we buy and eat really matters.
