Fair Trade for British Farmers

astep70uk

Mods - I don't know if this is the correct place to post this but please move/delete if not

I live in a very rural area where farming is the majority livelihood. I come from a farming family who have had to try and diversify because of the terrible prices we were paid for beef and lamb.

The one remaining dairy farmer, who has farmed for generations, has recently had to close for business due to the price being paid to him for milk. There is a photo of him in our local paper in tears as farming is not just a job, it is a way of life - this has now been taken from him.

Obviously on this board we all know about the rising costs of butter and dairy products.

The editor of our local newspaper has set up a site on Facebook called Fair Trade for British Farmers and we are trying to get as many people as possible to join this group, and to lobby Stephen Timms MP. It's hopefully going to show online support for British farmers, who are getting a very hard deal at the moment.

If you would like to join, please go to Fair Trade for British Farmers and show your support :T

Penelope_Penguin

Interesting thread (though I can't log on to your link - I'm not in FaceBook).

Problem is, though, are people prepared to pay for food?

For example, in the UK we have high animal welfare standards. In other EU countries these standards are lower. Some of the countries that have recently joined the EU have lower labour costs. In both cases, the result is higher costs for UK-produced food, and higher prices in the shops.

Supermarkets are able to screw down the prices that they pay their suppliers, so that they can pass on savings to the customer. Shopping locally can mean higher prices.

Unless we are prepared to pay realistic prices for food grown and sold locally, British farmers will continue to go to the wall.

Penny. x

astep70uk

Thanks for that Penny. I realise this is a money saving board, and food from cheaper countries passes on the saving to the customer which is great.

Personally I would rather pay a little more for home grown, locally produced meat, dairy, fruit and veg rather than produce which has been produced on a budget, then flown thousands of miles around the world. I realise the laws on food production in this country are so strict, but that is why I feel safer eating British produce, than some mass produced food from a foreign country with badly treated animals and cheap labour.


If we don't start fighting for our industries, before long, we will be relying on other countries for EVERYTHING - when we get dependent on them, they'll be able to charge us what they want!

Look at the miners, steel industry, car production - all industries which we mostly rely on other countries for. (Sorry for the rant!)

Just my opinion though - please support if you can :T

nicola1982_2

sadly I have to use the supermarkets for dairy products because our local dairy is rubbish. I've tried to register for milk delivery on numerous occasions and they never come so I've given up

I do use our local butchers and river nene vegetable delivery which work out cheaper and nicer than the supermarkets.

I work in the purchasing industry (not grocers thankfully) and some of the stories we hear about the purchasing methods of the grocers (Mr T in particular) are disgraceful!

Justamum

The problem seems to be the very powerful supermarkets. We all know that farmers are paid pennies for the milk they produce, but it's certainly not sold for pennies in the supermarkets. Also fruit and veg - supermarkets seem to think shoppers demand a beauty parade so tons of food is rejected by them and ploughed back into the ground. They also don't pay the farmers a fair price, and have a huge profit margin for themselves. I can't comment on meat as I have never bought any.

dianadors

I buy my milk from the milkman because I know he gets it locally, but I dont know how much he pays for it( I will ask him this week when he collects his money). I know its more expensive, but it saves me money because if I went into the supermarket for it, I wouldnt come out without spending £50. The thing I hate about Mr T and other supermarkets is that eventually they will change the way our countryside looks - I personally like to see cows and sheep in the fields and I know that if I dont pay a fair price for the milk, these will disapear. Supermarkets use the "cheap milk" ploy to get you into the supermarkets. My mates go on about how they go to Asda for their cheap milk, but I bet they dont know how much they pay for it. Milk is always on the furthest wall in the supermarkets so you have to pass everything else to get to it (hence spending £50!!). Ive totally stopped buying milk from Supermarkets - and also those £2.99 roasted chickens since I discovered that farmers are paid less than 3p per chicken. I want to save money, but I can save it elsewhere.

Plum_Pie

Penelope_Penguin wrote: »

Problem is, though, are people prepared to pay for food?

For example, in the UK we have high animal welfare standards. In other EU countries these standards are lower. Some of the countries that have recently joined the EU have lower labour costs. In both cases, the result is higher costs for UK-produced food, and higher prices in the shops.

But don't other European countries spend more per head for food? I'm thinking of school dinners particularly.


Oooh, actually, didn't the head of Tesco recently say he was going to stop the company competing on price and start competing on quality?

I, personally, am prepared to pay more, particularly for animal products.