Riverford has teamed up with a group of British farmers to launch a new fairness campaign called Farmers Against Farmwashing aimed at exposing misleading supermarket ‘farmwashing’ practices.
The campaign is calling for transparency in supermarket sourcing and fair support for British farmers before it is too late.
New research from the organic veg box company has revealed that despite supermarket claims to support British farmers, 61% are likely to give up their farms in the next 18 months.
Additionally, only 25% of farmers surveyed think that supermarket claims to support British farmers are credible and backed up by supermarket buying behaviour.
The campaign includes a docuseries featuring Riverford founder Guy Singh-Watson, conservationist Jimmy Doherty and a team of farmers to unveil the truth behind some of the ‘British farm’ produce on supermarket shelves and reveal the real-life impact that farmwashing practices have on farmers across the country.
Riverford’s research found that two thirds (67%) of farmers feel under pressure from the supermarkets and live in fear of being delisted if they complain about supermarket buying behaviour.
“Britain’s small-scale farmers are facing extinction, pushed to the brink by the rise of US-style mega-farms,” said Doherty. “These enormous operations might make meat cheaper, but the hidden costs are devastating compromises on animal welfare, environmental harm, and the destruction of traditional farming livelihoods.”
“We’re seeing generations of family farms swallowed up, replaced by faceless corporations that are driven by profit rather than people or the planet. It’s time we take a stand and support real British farming before it’s too late.”
Read more: Riverford petition hits 100,000 signatures to prompt parliamentary debate
The launch of the campaign is supported by an open letter addressed to the CEOs of the ‘Big Six’ supermarkets, calling for an end to the practice of farmwashing and asking supermarkets to honour their promises of supporting British farmers with better buying practices.
The open letter has been signed by over 100 leading figures and counting, including Cat Smith MP, Rick Stein, William Chase, Ben Goldsmith, David Chadwick MP and Ben Lake MP as well as industry bodies such as Sustain and Soil Association.
Further research from Riverford found that 60% of shoppers actively look for the Union Jack on products to support British farmers. When shown a photo of produce in a UK supermarket under a Union Jack flag, more than two thirds expected more than half of it to come from a British farm, in fact, none of it did.
“British farming is at a breaking point,” said Singh-Watson. “The public cares deeply about where their food comes from, the supermarkets know this, and they are using that trust to steal farmer stories and to hoodwink shoppers into thinking they are buying from those small-scale, traditional British farms.”
Singh-Watson said supermarkets failed to back up claims of support for farmers with buying practices and that they must stop “exploiting farmers and start supporting them”.
The campaign is also designed to encourage shoppers to make more informed choices and to dig deeper into the origins of their food.
It is also urging people to write to their MPs to call for tighter regulations of the supermarkets.
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