More than 54,000 people have signed a letter to Defra Secretary of State George Eustice in support of NFU calls for a commitment to maintain Britain’s food production levels to stay above its current level of 60% self-sufficiency.
In that last two weeks tens of thousands of people have joined the call urging Mr Eustice and the government to ‘secure the future of Britain’s ability to feed itself’ and to use our self-sufficiency measure as a key metric in its report on food security which is due to be published this year.
NFU President Minette Batters said the rise in support is sending ‘a very strong signal’ to Government on how highly the British public value quality, sustainably produced British food, and the importance of having a resilient British food and farming sector.
“In 1984, the UK’s overall food self-sufficiency was 78%,” said Ms Batters. “In 2021, it is 60%. It becomes more and more challenging to be global leaders in climate-friendly food if we allow our own production levels to drop.
“We have seen in recent weeks just how fragile our food supply chains can be – particularly highlighted by the ongoing workforce shortages experienced by certain sectors of the economy, including the food and farming sectors in picking, packing, processing and distributing food.
“This year, for the first time, government has to report on Britain’s food security as part of the new Agriculture Act. We want ministers across Whitehall to have a greater ambition in promoting British food at home and abroad to aid Britain’s food security. Through this open letter to George Eustice, farmers and the public alike are calling on government to take immediate action and commit to not allowing our self-sufficiency levels to fall any further and take every opportunity to increase them.”
