Buy British – Or It’s Bye Bye British. Farmers say inferior imports are threatening UK farming.

Nestled among the generic plastic packets of meat on the shelves of a supermarket refrigerator, is one with a tiny red tractor on. It is the only visible indication that this particular portion of meat was produced in the UK. It’s a sight all too familiar to pig farmer Anna Longthorp. She’s a fourth-generation farmer and she’s fed up with what she says is misleading packaging. She’s so cross she’s been busily photographing what she believes is a deliberate supermarket policy aimed at duping customers into thinking they are buying British.   

A particular bug-bear of Anna’s is to see “Buy British” supermarket banners next to food that isn’t British. This Tesco display says “Partnering with British farmers” and has meat on display alongside it that is not all British.

Picture: Anna Longthorp

This ASDA sign says “Supporting British Farmers” but much of the meat for sale beneath it is from other countries.

Picture: Anna Longthorp

I contacted the Tesco press office twice inviting them to join Anna Longthorp and Ben Gibbons from the NFU on my podcast to talk about labelling. I have had no response. I contacted ASDA and they replied “All ASDA products are clearly labelled, could you please send me any examples where this is not the case?”. I sent some pictures showing imported meat under a Supporting British Farmers sign. I have not heard back. I turned to the Competitions and Marketing Authority asking if this is allowed. They referred me to DEFRA.  DEFRA sent me this statement:

“The UK has high standards for food labels and a key requirement is that food labels must not be misleading so consumers can have confidence in the food that they buy.” 

“Any indication of origin displayed on a label must not be misleading. Origin labels are mandatory for a wide range of foods, and a union flag will only be allowed on meat from the UK and declared as such on the label.”

All the meat states the country of origin if you look closely but you need to be a determined and eagle-eyed shopper to identify the British produced items alongside the imported ones and frankly, many of us don’t have time to be studying the small-print – and we shouldn’t have to. It’s not just meat that’s affected. Lidl have been selling crisps proudly brandishing the Union Jack and writing on the front declaring 100% British potatoes but turn it over and the small print says “contains non-British potatoes”. I’m no mathematician but that doesn’t add up.

Picture: Anna Longthorp. British crisps from Lidl. But are they?

Imported meat is often produced under conditions that would be illegal here and crops are grown by farmers who are not held to the same high environmental standards. That means they are cheaper to produce and therefore cheaper to buy despite the airmiles. Ben Gibbons from the NFU says they are calling for core standards to be introduced: “We can’t be bringing in products that are illegal to produce here. It’s as simple as that”. The real cost is to British farmers, British ethics and the environment. How can consumers tell from the packaging if the imported meat they are buying has been farmed to lower welfare standards? They can’t.

Listen to the podcast British Farming Under Threat now to hear Anna Longthorp and Ben Gibbons as we discuss the effect of labelling, imports and the government’s overseas trade deals on Britain’s farming industry. If you have enjoyed reading this article then please share it on social media so others can too.

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