A petition has been launched demanding fairer treatment for farmers from the Big Six supermarkets.
An open letter has been sent to the CEOs of Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda, Morrisons, Aldi and Lidl asking them to treat farmers fairly and warning that the British farming industry was “on its knees”.
Over 100 leading public figures signed the #GetFairAboutFarming open letter, including conservationist Ray Mears, TV presenters Julia Bradbury and Jimmy Doherty.
Chefs Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and Melissa Hemsley, and musicians including JLS singer JB Gill and Marcus Mumford of Mumford and Sons also backed the campaign, alongside industry bodies Sustain and Soil Association.
“Deafening silence”
But over two weeks on, there has been a “deafening silence” from the high street giants to the campaign, which was launched by organic fruit and veg box company, Riverford, which has a long-standing ‘Fair to Farmers’ charter.
Natalie Bennett, the former Leader of the Green Party, also backed the campaign, saying in the House of Lords: “Farmers suffer major economic loss and a huge amount of food is wasted because supermarkets order food and then refuse to take it and to put it on the shelves and it rots in the fields.”
Research from Riverford found that 49 per cent of British fruit and vegetable farmers say it’s likely they will go out of business in the next 12 months, and many blame supermarkets and their buyers as a leading threat to their livelihoods.
The petition calls for the Government to amend the Grocery Supply Code of Practice (GSCP) to require retailers, without exception, to:
- Buy what they agreed to buy
- Pay what they agreed to pay
- Pay on time
The principles are taken from Riverford’s Fair to Farmers charter – a document devised by founder Guy Singh-Watson to lay down ethical business practices among growers and farmers, to ensure a fair deal is always achieved.
“British agriculture is on its knees”
Riverford Organic founder Guy Singh-Watson said: “The reaction and level of support for this campaign has been very encouraging. From the backing of our open letter by industry experts, chefs, MPs, and fellow farmers, to the 60,000 members of the British public who have signed our petition, it is abundantly clear that this is an urgent issue which needs to be addressed.
“However, the silence from supermarkets is deafening. British agriculture is on its knees, with research showing that many farmers attribute their fear of closure to the behaviour of supermarkets. And yet not one of the ‘Big Six’ has responded to our calls for better business practices, to safeguard the future of fruit and veg farmers in this country.
“The supermarkets must act now. This marks a critical moment where we can take a stand against harmful practices, and create a better, fairer future for British food and farming. “
To show continued support for Riverford’s petition calling the government to intervene and protect Britain’s broken food system from further collapse, people can sign the petition here: petition.parliament.uk/petitions/643216.
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