I recently wrote to the main supermarkets about customers being able to buy more locally and UK sourced food. I have received the enclosed responses from Morrisons, Tesco and Asda which they said I could share with you. I am happy to reproduce the other replies if they wish when I receive them. I encourage any UK based food retailer to do a good job selling and promoting UK produced food. They are in alphabetical order. Tesco gave the most rapid response.
Asda
“Thank you for your email regarding British sourcing. As a company established by a group of
Yorkshire dairy farmers, this is an important issue for Asda.
We keep our fish sourcing under review, but due to the need of having to maintain a
sustainable supply, this does sometimes come from overseas. However, we do support small
suppliers, such as Downies of Whitehills Cullen Skink and ScottyBrand Smoked Salmon.
Some of our seafood is UK sourced, including Atlantic Herring, Mackerel and Edible Crab.
We have a dedicated local sourcing team, who enable small suppliers to supply Asda stores,
including the facility to be stocked in a single local store. This covers a wide range of different
products.
As you may be aware, Asda has recently had a change in ownership. With this change, we
have pledged to source 100% British beef, 100% British dairy and increase our sourcing of
bread wheat to 100% British.
You may be interested in the results of a recent customer insight survey we carried out,
where we asked about attitudes to buying British. This showed a divide in attitudes depending
on age, with 56% of 18-34 year old customers saying it is important, rising to 81% of 55+. The
overall importance of buying British was listed as the eighth biggest issue for our customers,
with them viewing recycling, reducing food waste and tackling antisocial behaviour as their
biggest issues.
While this does show differing attitudes towards British sourcing, we are keen to do all we can
to support small British suppliers throughout our stores, and constantly keep sourcing under
review.”
(their survey showed 76% thought buying British was important. )
Morrisons
“Morrisons is committed to buying British and giving our customers a great – and growing – choice of locally sourced food and drink.
We are the nation’s largest fresh food manufacturer and operate our own abattoirs, food manufacturing sites, and produce pack houses. We have recently added to this capacity with the acquisition earlier this month of Falfish, a family-owned processor of sustainably sourced seafood based in Cornwall.
For customers, this acquisition will mean further improvements to the range, quality and availability of fresh fish and shellfish at our in-store counters. Following the deal over 80% of Morrisons fish and shellfish – both in our 497 stores and in our online business – will come from Morrisons wholly-owned seafood operations (Morrisons already owns two seafood processing sites close to the docks in Grimsby).
This deal is a real commitment to the South West fishing industry which we believe will benefit the local economy as well as offering our customers an improved range of freshly caught fish and an investment in our in-store fishmongers.
You also asked about local produce. One of our core priorities is ‘local integration and serving the community’ and we have made positive strides on this in recent years. Prior to the pandemic, our buyers were touring the nation and hosting ‘local foodmaker’ events which offered local producers the opportunity to showcase their products. Through our ‘local foodmaker’ programme we have now surpassed a key milestone of 1,000 new, local products (from 220 local suppliers) which we have sourced from 37 events held across Britain in the last few years. This programme continues although with the onset of Covid we have been forced to hold events online.
Many local food producers are continuing to expand their geographic reach through their relationship with Morrisons and more of our stores have local products on offer. As an example, our store at Lake, Isle of Wight, is one of our most integrated stores so far, stocking locally supplied milk, cheese, cream, coffee, eggs, meat, tomatoes, biscuits and garlic.”
Tesco
“At Tesco, our ambition is to be British agricultureās most trusted partner, helping to secure a successful future for farming, food and fisheries.
As part of our commitment to a competitive and productive UK agriculture sector, weāve set up a number of Tesco Sustainable Farming Groups (TSFGs). The Groups, led by our suppliers, farmers and Tesco colleagues, are organised by sector and are central to our work of building long-term relationships with our farmers. Weāre also supporting new entrants and young farmers through our Future Farming Foundation, which each year provides 50 young farmers from across the UK and Ireland with guidance, support and training.
In store customers will find that all of our milk is British, sourced from British dairy farmers who are guaranteed a fair price for every pint through our Fair for Farmers Guarantee. We support our dairy farmers through the Tesco Sustainable Dairy Group, which was the first of the TSFGs to be set up in 2007, and now represents the largest group of dairy farmers working with a retailer directly. In addition to this, 100% of our beef, chicken, eggs and cheese is British and Irish. Alongside this we have a dedicated local sourcing team to evaluate and identify locally-sourced products, which are then sold in store ā giving customers access to top quality, British products.
Recognising the demand from our customers for homegrown, seasonal produce, we work with trusted growers across the UK to deliver this all year round and include our Best of British Union Jack on packaging to help customers identify fresh fruit and vegetables which are 100 per cent homegrown. We are also using this partnership approach to foster innovation across all sectors, including our Incubator Programme which is helping suppliers to grow their brands and bring new, innovative products to market.”
Waitrose (added on April 1)
“Thank you for your recent email regarding Waitroseās sourcing of British products in our shops.
It is great to hear that your constituents want to be able to buy more UK produce in their local shops. We know this is something our customers are particularly passionate about. Searches on Waitrose.com for British chicken, beef and vegetables doubled last year and our recent Waitrose & Partners Food and Drink Report 2021 found that 74% of people want to see more food businesses in the UK express their ongoing support for local British producers.
All of our fresh and frozen beef, chicken, pork, eggs and milk are 100% British sourced, and from this Summer all our lamb will be 100% British sourced all year round. Many of Waitrose’s local products are from companies that produce food within a 30 mile radius of a shop. Waitrose has a team of buyers dedicated to seeking out local and regional sources of the best quality food that often cannot be found in other supermarkets.
We have also seen strong growth in demand from our customers for British seafood. Sales of fresh oysters and mussels increased by 74% and 25% year-on-year last year, and searches for āseafoodā on Waitrose.com have more than doubled.
In July last year, Waitrose became the first major UK supermarket chain to sell MSC certified British clams and cockles from the Dorset Shellfish Company, one of the leading specialists in the country and a key supplier to some of the top restaurants in the UK. Clam sales were very successful, selling more than double than predicted volumes. We also expanded our fresh British fish range to include five different MSC certified native British fish varieties, including Coley and Whiting. ”
March 31, 2021
Good for them. Listening to R5L’s ‘Wake Up to Money’ this morning, I was struck by a comment by an exporter of British cheese. Before she can ship a pallet of the stuff to the EU, she has to call in a vet – a vet! – to inspect the shipment, at a cost of Ā£120. I won’t be buying any EU cheese again and will continue buying as much British, or non-EU, food as I can.
March 31, 2021
For every EU impediment to exported UK food we should reciprocate. The vets of europe would be delighted.
March 31, 2021
Level playing field
March 31, 2021
It is not an EU impediment. It is a Brexit impediment. These extra barriers to trade exist because you voted for them.
You are perfectly entitled to reciprocate. Itāll raise prices for British consumers when you do.
March 31, 2021
Andy, I agree it is because of Brexit and we were told Boris had a trade deal, he doesn’t have a reciprocal trade deal and there are barriers to our producers that presently we don’t have to EU producers, so to even things up for British producers we should do all we can to support British producers until this is ironed out, as a Brit don’t you agree?
Can you please explain why the costs of buying British cheese in place of say French cheese would ‘raise prices’, costs in France are similar in fact I read their NMW was slightly higher there is a lower transport cost?
March 31, 2021
He does have a trade deal. A rubbish one.
Brexitists spent so long whining about tariffs that they forgot that the biggest barrier to trade is always non tariff barriers.
Cheese is a good example because foodstuffs – particularly of animal origin – are always strictly regulated.
When we followed shared EU rules cheese producers could send their products anywhere in the EU without additional checks because they all followed the same rules. By choosing to leave those shared rules – because presumably we are not sovereign unless we have full control over cheese standards – EU countries now require additional evidence that our cheese complies with their rules.
We can of course reciprocate. But if you are a French cheese producer you now face difficulty selling into just one market – GB (not even NI). Whereas if you are a British producer you face difficulty selling to 27 other markets. The French producers either give up – limiting choice for British consumers – or they put up their prices. Hitting the pockets of British consumers.
This is no longer theoretical. It is happening. It is Brexit. And you have done this damage to sector after sector after sector.
We always knew Brexit would cause huge economic damage. But the real problem here is the absolutely gutlessness of the Brexiteers to admit what they have done. They lied to you. The quicker you all realise that the quicker we can start fixing it all.
March 31, 2021
He has got a trade deal, but just as he kept describing it over many months it is little more than a “Canada style” trade deal which eliminates most tariffs and quotas on goods but does little or nothing to remove non-tariff barriers.
https://johnredwoodsdiary.com/2021/03/11/the-uk-single-market/#comment-1215362
“He has given the EU a trade deal which is of marginal economic value to both parties but about twice as valuable to them as to us, he has consigned part of the UK to continued EU domination, and he has put at risk the integrity of the UK.”
March 31, 2021
Well Andy, one of the best ways we can start to fix it immediately is to buy British and support the producers that the Eu have banned. It should be cheaper as local produce should cost less anyway, if it costs more than imports we should be told why?
British producers excluded from the EU markets need to do more marketing their products locally online, in small family shops, in specialist shops, engage with the supermarkets who now say they are willing to listen to competitive British companies. The government could help with online sales and marketing lessons, online market places, and guides to access to the larger suppliers.
March 31, 2021
@Abdy; “You are perfectly entitled to reciprocate. Itāll raise prices for British consumers when you do.”
Andy writes like someone not living in, nor holding a British passport, would, is the mask slipping – no doubt to morph into yet another ID?… Anyway he (?) is wrong, if the UK chooses to break away from EU style regulations there will be little to stop us from importing (what can’t be sourced locally) from cheaper and often higher quality markets.
March 31, 2021
Man genuinely thinks he is going to be importing cheaper higher quality cheese from the Far East. Coz the are huge cheese eaters.
It genuinely is a wonder that some of you are able to even dress yourselves.
March 31, 2021
@Andy; The UK actually has little need to import cheese to supply the traditional British market, and we also produce some ‘European’ style cheeses, such as brie. It might also be worth noting that the UK imports very high quality Canada and NZ produced Cheddars, and was doing so years before we joined the EEC. Nor was I talking specifically about cheese in any case.
March 31, 2021
No, to “reciprocate” is exactly what we should not do. It would be to give in to people like you who think of trade as warfare, and it would raise costs for no benefit.
The last thing we should do is to follow the EU into every little nook and cranny of their trade neurosis.
March 31, 2021
You have missed the point of todays submission. It is all about buying home grown for reference.
March 31, 2021
Plenty of cheap world alternatives if the EU frustrates the desire of European business to sell into UK markets.
March 31, 2021
Agreed.
(What does the vet actually do to the cheese and what criteria are assessed for form what opinion?)
March 31, 2021
Look at food.gov.uk āImporting products of animal originā and one will realise that the UK has introduced the exact same controls, with the text published 31/12/2020 just restating the regulations now that the UK is out.
March 31, 2021
Except they are not yet being applied:
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2021/mar/11/uk-forced-to-delay-import-checks-on-eu-goods-by-six-months-2022-border-post-not-ready
“Most import checks have now been pushed back to 1 January 2022, meaning Britain will begin these processes a year later than the EU.”
For practical purposes there is no pressing need for either the EU or the UK to introduce checks on goods which are still being produced according to EU requirements.
April 1, 2021
Thank you. I did look at that site but it does not explain what the vets actually are supposed to do. I see from EU Regulation 2017/625 that the overall purpose is to address: –
“Transmissible animal diseases, including by micro-organisms that have developed resistance to antimicrobials, may have a significant impact on public health, food and feed safety, and animal health and welfare.”
No doubt the vets concern themselves with that.
March 31, 2021
It’s a pity but I think the time may have come for that policy shift. It’s now three months that we have tried setting a good and sensible example to these people but that hasn’t worked, so now we should publicly tell them that unless they change their silly attitude we will have to act to defend our producers. These are the non-tariff barriers which we knew beforehand would not be eliminated by Boris Johnson’s “Canada-style” free trade deal but could be addressed through the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement.
March 31, 2021
Yes- let’s tell them about their ‘silly attitude’- in case you still don’t know the EU is a rules based club which we were in with full rights but which we left in a whim and now from the outside some think we are badly done by because they have not changed the rules to accomodate us like we have not got special status to allow for privileged trade- I repeat we are a long way away from that now more like over to WTO rules side- it was our own doing- can’t hardly blame them
March 31, 2021
See below about another “rules based club”, the WTO:
https://johnredwoodsdiary.com/2021/03/31/locally-sourced-food/#comment-1219423
“For as long as UK producers remain completely aligned to EU standards their goods exported to the EU will pose no more risk than when the UK was an EU member state.”
March 31, 2021
Dennis
A Perfect response, and would not be before time.
March 31, 2021
Mistake Denis, the whole purpose of these regs is to give Andy something to be smug about. Can’t wait for him to get back to France to tell us how wonderful the EU is at performing during Covid.
March 31, 2021
OK, fair enough, the UK does not yet apply the same controls because it is not āreadyā. Is that a EU matter? The UK has had plenty of time since the vote, and since July 2016 two Governments have now held a lot of meetings with āBrusselsā about the potential problems. How comes that the competent authorities have not better prepared themselves? Is that the fault of Remoaners, Civil Serpents or the lack of preparedness/knowledge/experience of the politicians/ministers in charge of these preparations? Could it be that the caliber of these people once in charge is shown by events to be so often wanting?
Are we allowed to consider that the failure of these Brexit matters is of the same type as the failures seen in handling the PPE questions, the test and trace app, the start and end of regional and national lockdowns, the rush to the AZ vaccine, … ?
Or do we just have to accept/swallow that we are the āenvy of the worldā, world-beating this, that and the other? And that all negative events are because of those who are not āones of usā?
March 31, 2021
Quite right hefner. It is not an Eu matter, this government has let the UK down they should have been prepared if the EU can do it we should have been ready too. They now owe it to British producers to help them to increase their UK market share.
I donāt believe the government were at fault over PPE, the NHS controls its own stock, stock was stolen and mis-recorded, and placed ordered were held up in France, Germany and China to start. The test and trace app is only as good as the public buy in to using the app, they didnāt want to and wouldnāt tell the trace people who they had been in contact with.
Do you believe this Current UK vaccine program is a mistake?
March 31, 2021
I didn’t go into the reasons why we are not applying the full gamut of checks on imports from the EU, I just pointed out that it has yet to happen.
April 2, 2021
a-tracy, Not at all, the current UK vaccine program looks good to me. I still have to wait 5 weeks for the second jab.
March 31, 2021
AGRICOLA : “For every EU impediment to exported UK food we should reciprocate. The vets of europe would be delighted.”
I’m afraid it wouldn’t work because the EU exporters would just pretend that their shipments had been inspected by a vet.
March 31, 2021
@Sea_Warrior; I suspect that cheese producer was talking about having to have the cows inspected, being part of her supply chain (she needs to show a paper-chain that she has taken all reasonable steps/percussions etc), not having to get a vet to inspect the cheese! š I know someone who, because his company produced products with chicken meat within, had to go with a vet to inspect a hen house and its occupants at the poultry farm supplying the production line.
March 31, 2021
What you speak of is an agricultural ISO 9000/ QS9000 that operates throughout manufacturing industry. Tracability to source. It has been the lifeblood of industry for many years now.
March 31, 2021
@agricola; Indeed, but easily conflated to become a ‘problem’ with the EU or Brexit, depending on which side of the argument someone is, even though many ISOs have their origins in the British Standards Institution system, thus neither the EU nor Brexit is to blame!
March 31, 2021
I wanted out of the EU as much as anyone but we must point the finger at ‘Boris’ and the Tory leadership for stuff like this. He and they agreed to an exit which allowed this sort of aggression and they do nothing to counter it. For all his bluster and his showing off he is weak, yet behaves as if he part of a superior class of beings which the world respects, which is part of his self-delusion. His talk of the EU as his friends is more than grating, it is an illustration. We do not have the sovereignty he promised, nor is he prepared to defend us. Bragging is not the answer.
March 31, 2021
Agree 100%. Boris is a total let down. All bluster and bluff with no substance.
March 31, 2021
It’s not “aggression”, it’s what being a third country means. If you voted leave and wanted out of the single market and the customs union, this is what you wanted and voted for, so take some responsibility for the consequences of your choice.
March 31, 2021
Wrong.
The EU collectively and each of its continuing member states individually are parties to the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement:
https://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/tradfa_e/tradfa_e.htm
and under its Article 7.4 it should be assessing and managing risks, not automatically treating all “third countries” in exactly the same way as you imply.
“4 Risk Management
4.1 Each Member shall, to the extent possible, adopt or maintain a risk management system for
customs control.
4.2 Each Member shall design and apply risk management in a manner as to avoid arbitrary or
unjustifiable discrimination, or a disguised restriction on international trade.
4.3 Each Member shall concentrate customs control and, to the extent possible other relevant
border controls, on high-risk consignments and expedite the release of low-risk consignments. A
Member also may select, on a random basis, consignments for such controls as part of its risk
management.
4.4 Each Member shall base risk management on an assessment of risk through appropriate
selectivity criteria. Such selectivity criteria may include, inter alia, the Harmonized System code,
nature and description of the goods, country of origin, country from which the goods were
shipped, value of the goods, compliance record of traders, and type of means of transport.”
For as long as UK producers remain completely aligned to EU standards their goods exported to the EU will pose no more risk than when the UK was an EU member state.
March 31, 2021
Which court will enforce this Facilitation Agreement, Denis? (Clue – there isnāt one, it has no legal force and it is utterly useless to traders like me)
March 31, 2021
Nonsense, the UK chose to leave the EU, you refuse to follow the Commission and the ECJ, so of course the EU will not accept UK goods without checks. You voted for the UK to become a third country, will you Brexiters ever be man enough to face up to what you have done to our country?
April 1, 2021
“Man enough”?
Most of them claim that wearing a bit of cloth on their faces will “damage their mental health” for pity’s sake.
March 31, 2021
@Peter Parsons; “Itās not āaggressionā, itās what being a third country means.”
No it is NOT what “being a third country means”, the UK actually asked for a similar trade deal to the one Canada has, it was refused by the EU. The EU’s implantation of the WA is aggression, it is being used to punished.
March 31, 2021
Rubbish. Punishment is something imposed on an unwilling party. The current agreements were all agreed to by this Conservative government. Any and all pain caused is entirely self-inflicted by the agreements willingly entered into.
March 31, 2021
Do calm down.
Canada does not have a land border, tunnel, nor a one-hour ferry connection with the European Union by which thousands of lorries would otherwise pass each, day among many differences.
There is no basis for a like deal with the UK.
April 1, 2021
@Peter Parsons; Read what I said, not reply to what you hope had I said… The EU is punishing the UK by the way they have chosen to implement -let me make that clearer for you, interpret- the legal meaning of the WA.
@MiC; Nonsense, it is you who needs to “claim down”, stop stamping your europhile feet in rage at Brexit and consider some real world facts. Many non EU countries have land (or very short sea connection [1]) boarders with the EU, trade is unhindered, the UN’s TIR Convention (1949-current) is used to ease trade across such boarders but ensure compliance with relevant customs requirements. If you think a hard board stops citizens and organised smuggling you are even more daft than I first thought.
[1] Morocco for example, 22 mi, 35Km
March 31, 2021
If it wasn’t for Boris (and Gove), Brexit wouldn’t have won the Referendum. You can’t blame him for where we are at the moment. Rather blame a lack of leadership (everything important in life requires leadership), lack of plan, lack of positive vision why Sovereignty is a great thing rather than point the finger at how evil the EU is.
I agree, Sovereignty is a GREAT THING. But the end doesn’t justify the means. And the means to get there have been pretty MEDIOCRE. Mediocrity is the great curse of modern life – of the modern world. And with just a mediocre leader with a mediocre plan and mediocre vision for Sovereignty, you’re going to end up with something very mediocre in the end.
Blame the spirit of mediocrity that is the curse of this country and most of the Western World in this ‘modern’ postmodernist age we live in.
March 31, 2021
It’s NOT too late to make a great success of Brexit. But it’s still far too rooted in mediocrity (lack of leadership, lack of real planning, lack of real, positive, creative, joyful vision of how GREAT Sovereignty can be).
I’ll get some frosty, snarky comment no doubt for telling things as they really are. But so be it. I STRONGLY BELIEVE IN SOVEREIGNTY. To me the EU is a HERESY. But that doesn’t mean the ends justify the means. The means have to be first rate not mediocre or worse. Otherwise we’ll end up with something mediocre or worse. That’s just how the world / life works. That’s the reality of things.
March 31, 2021
“If it wasnāt for Boris (and Gove), Brexit wouldnāt have won the Referendum”
Please provide evidence to back up that claim.
The earliest sampling of leave voters showed 42% had decided more than a year before the referendum and a further 15% were decided by the start of 2016, before Boris chose to back “Leave”.
Vote Leave wasn’t even picked as the “official” group by the electoral commission until APril 2016.
You do others who fought for so much longer and effectively a great disservice glibly ascribing far too much to those two.
March 31, 2021
‘glibly’
– that’s a bit aggressive.
I’m not doubting the 42%. But that wasn’t enough to swing the vote. It was ultimately swung by Boris and Gove. That’s all I’m saying.
And what I say is true – not glib.
April 1, 2021
And the other 15% ..
If what you say is is true then provide the proof. The thing is I don’t believe there is any evidence to that effect, many circumstances, influences and influencers would have affected the outcome.
To claim those two were solely responsible ignores everything else and comes across as a simple soundbite.
March 31, 2021
“A deal is oven-ready. Letās get Brexit done and take this country forward”
So when do you anticpate starting Boris? I would suggest your first move must be to rescind your “oven ready” Withdrawal Agreement and the Political Declaration, both of which work against the United Kingdom and especially Northern Ireland.
March 31, 2021
Prangwizard,
+1
I do miss the paragraph indentation for replies as offered on the old site. You now need to mention the name of the person you are responding to for clarity.
Proxy wars using vaccine are no substitute either. Let all Brits who want vaccination have them. Then sell the rest at cost or cost plus. Any that are offered to countries as aid should be accounted for and the sum removed from the total aid budget allocated to said country.
Boris needs to stand up to the EU. Either respond in kind or move to WTO terms.
Boris will not do so either from weakness or because he simply is not inclined to do so. This needs to be borne in mind at future elections.
March 31, 2021
Well Said Sea Warrior!
We have only 2 powers left, our vote and our money and we should use them as a protest against the EU’s NTBs and buy British.
Did you know that the UK produces around 40% more varieties of cheese than France?
March 31, 2021
I do now!
March 31, 2021
Between 1,000 and 1,600 distinct cheeses (varieties) in France made of 350-400 cheese types in eight categories with the different varieties for each type. ā Fromage frais, pates molles a croute fleurie, pates molles a croute lavee, pates pressees cuites, pates pressees non cuites, chevre, fonduesā, are the categories. All except āchevreā can apply to cowās or eweās milk. Then depending where it is produced it can be āfermier, artisanal, cooperative or industrielā.
Around 750 different varieties of UK cheeses.
The Newsweek report is asinine as it does not make the difference between a cheese type and a cheese variety. If one puts a bit of food colouring when making the cheese it is a different variety not a different type. A cheddar is a cheddar whether natural-coloured, green, orange, red or blue, with a bit of thyme, lavender, pepper … in it.
Apart from this problem of definition I really enjoy an extra mature (uncoloured) cheddar with some pickled onions, a Colston Bassett Stilton or a fresh goat cheese with some garlic-rubbed croutons.
March 31, 2021
You don’t mention my favourite Hugh, gruyĆØre.
March 31, 2021
Hefner, the one to really upset Les Grenouilles is Waterloo.
March 31, 2021
Oh yes, the one won thanks to Bluecher, isnāt it?
April 1, 2021
Specifically for Hefners information the Waterloo I spoke of is a cheese, made I believe by the Dukes descendants and does not involve any Prussians. Everyone should try it with a glass of Newzealand red.
April 2, 2021
Agricola, thanks for the advice. I wonder whether this Waterloo cheese is on sale at Stratfield Saye House farm, the Duke of Wellingtonās property in Hampshire, not far from Wokingham.
March 31, 2021
And thanks to the Irish Protocol agreed by Boris Johnson and supported by almost all Tory MPs “the EU” is deemed to include Northern Ireland for this kind of purpose, so presumably cheese sent within the UK from Great Britain to Belfast will be treated in the same way as sent out of the UK to Boulogne:
https://johnredwoodsdiary.com/2021/03/17/global-britain-and-the-security-review/#comment-1216502
āAndrew Lynas, managing director of Coleraine-based Lynas Foodservice, told MPs that buying mozzarella cheese from one of his long-standing suppliers in England now requires eight separate processes under the Northern Ireland Protocol.”
March 31, 2021
I now check all the labels, tomatoes from Morroco, beef from uk not Ireland. If not British then any non EU or go without.
It’s the only way to treat a hostile neighbour.
March 31, 2021
This week I purchased Cornish Brie instead of my previous preferred (French) Brie. I’ve stopped buying European wines in preference to Rest of World (mostly Australian and US ones). We buy local produce when possible now (and discovered the best Pork Pies I’ve ever tasted in the process).
Small changes perhaps but if enough people make them, they will make a difference.
March 31, 2021
Please buy English wines.
April 2, 2021
I am not looking forward with much trepidation to an English āTempranilloā or an English āMontepulcianoā …
March 31, 2021
I prefer Somerset Brie to Cornish Brie, the M&S one is particularly nice.
April 4, 2021
Thank you for the suggestion – I will watch out for it! š
March 31, 2021
It’s worth thinking about long-term effects here. When the UK joined the Common Market, New Zealand lost market share in the UK, so they took their dairy industry up the value chain. From producing huge quantities of block cheddar for the UK market, they branched out into speciality cheeses that bring in far more cash by weight and are now very important suppliers in Asia.
The UK industry can do the same. There is art to cheese making, but it’s not unique. The notion that there are certain cheeses only Europe can make is just more of the snobbery and magical thinking that lies behind Remainerism. In time, the UK industry can replace *all* of the cheeses that currently come from Europe.
The EU are going to find that their obstructionism is simply going to drive production, processing and manufacturing back into the UK. Using cheap credit to buy goods from Europe instead of producing them ourselves was always just a lazy option, and it was never going to work for the long-term.
March 31, 2021
Do EU food exporters to UK have go through the process. If not UK should introduce it.
March 31, 2021
This buy British food is typical Tory stuff to keep prices up and your landowner chums happy. Down with the Corn Laws ! (or whatever the rebranded EU Common Agricultural Policy is called these days)
March 31, 2021
I would call the EU CAP one of the biggest protectionist rackets yet devised by the EU , along with their import tariffs to protect their home producers. Check out sugar.
March 31, 2021
@agricola, EU CAP is also there to ensure the consumer pays more than the World Market rate for sustaining life
March 31, 2021
Pity EU CAP did not include vaccine purchase, who knows how many lives it might have saved.
March 31, 2021
a: āCheck out sugarā. I guess that is the wrong historical example: France developed sugar from beets because of the blockade that England had put on any export of cane sugar during the Napoleonic war and this for about 30 years …
March 31, 2021
What a stupid post. This is not about Tory friends. It’s about supporting our farmers and those employed by them. Having lived among the farming community I know many are not big land owners but people whose families have farmed sometimes small farms for generations. Many are starting up for the first time and but more land as they progress. They work 7 days a week abd during lambing season, around the clock. They work very long hours, far more than the average person. Supporting our farmers and buying our produce has nothing to do with politics but everything to do with supporting British industry in whatever form.
March 31, 2021
@Fedupsoutherener, +1
March 31, 2021
@FUS; “Supporting our farmers and buying our produce has [..//..] everything to do with supporting British industry in whatever form.”
Indeed, just a pity some forgot that also applied to many other industries besides agriculture, it is even forgotten by farmers themselves when they go off and buy non UK designed/manufactured machinery and equipment.
March 31, 2021
It never ceases to amaze me just how ignorant of any facts most Remoaners are, just driven by EU propaganda which they accept without question. Martin is 180 degrees wrong and does not even know that the CAP is a protectionist racket to keep food prices up and was invented for the benefit of subsistence farmers in the EU, mainly France and just by chance(!) benefits the large organisations most.
March 31, 2021
It is also a left-wing tree-hugger policy to reduce food miles and hence The Global/Warming/Climate Change/Climate Disruption. Little Greta would approve. I assume the only people who don’t approve are the smug middle-aged middle-class Guardian readers who hate all things British and are wealthy enough to buy expensive imported food.
March 31, 2021
Yes and I happen to know that those particular useful idiots have taken to harassing farmers.
As for big landowners, they are Greta-pleasing by promising to reforest their valuable, productive fields and introduce deer. No cows, no sheep, no meat, no milk, no eggs ….just the odd bit of very occasional venison.
And then only if your social credit app is up to scratch.
March 31, 2021
You now have an expanded choice between British, EU and ‘Rest of the World’ produce. Off with your blinkers!
March 31, 2021
No Martin, it is actually about security of supply, or the means of supply, if we are reliant on imports to be able to feed (or heat) the population we are vulnerable to interruptions in supply outside of our control [1]. This was a lesson well learnt 80 years ago, a lesson we should have never forgotten, in my opinion!
[1] just look at the disruption caused by the pandemic and the recent issues in the Suez Canal
March 31, 2021
+1
March 31, 2021
No it isn’t Martin, it is in response to the EU expecting British exporters to get vets in for each and every shipment, fair enough but don’t expect retaliation on your exports of those same products to protect our own markets, no different than French farmers and exporters would expect of their government.
Get this news out regularly the BBC should be reporting on the struggles of our cheesemakers and this vet certification to export and their export market loss putting them at a disadvantage and encourage British shoppers to support these now loss-making businesses to sell their products in the UK.
No-one in the UK expected a market balanced to our favour but nor should we allow one sloped against the UK. Where imports are freely allowed without the same certification putting our businesses at a disadvantage.
March 31, 2021
Martin – I’d suggest you visit your local Market. Walk around and have a chat to the stall-holders. You won’t find too many large land owners there but perhaps you will find the odd small holder. Things are generally a bit more expensive than the Supermarkets but then so is the quality & choice (assuming you shop around). You don’t have to get all your weekly groceries there – just the few things that you find and particularly like (Pork Pies, Bread, fresh Veg etc).
It all helps to support local small business and reduces our dependency on others.
March 31, 2021
I will check out Asda and Morrisons, specifically in relation to fresh fish during the next week. I noted that Tesco used the word fisheries once while their fish stalls remain closed.
Generally I wish all the supermarkets well in trying to sell more British sourced food and I hope Commonwealth sourced food that does not grow in a temperate climate.
Locally a closed Debenhams is being turned into a farmers market and town centre accomodation. A good response to closing retailers in cities. Additionally a local garden centre offers extensive high end meat and cheese from UK suppliers with a recently added fruit and veg store. Locally demand is driving the desired progress.
March 31, 2021
Living where I do we have a good choice of supermarkets nearby. Iāve noticed Morrisonās do have a lot of British goods compared with say Asda. But eggs, milk etc all the supermarkets seem to source locally. I make a point to check.
Itās good to see a lot of goods are gradually becoming more locally or British sourced, the perishable goods must surely be fresher. However, we do still need the choice of goods from abroad to.
One thing that Morrisonās tried last year, was un wrapped cucumber…unfortunately they almost went limp in front of your eyes, so that idea only lasted a few weeks! But it was a good try to save on plastic.
March 31, 2021
And so do we š
Was thinking about replacing my German car this year, seriously looking at the offerings from Korea.
March 31, 2021
Would not consider anything from the EU.
March 31, 2021
You will not go wrong with a British made Toyota. Obviously it depends what sort of motor you are after, but the new Corolla Hybrid is great and made in Derby.
March 31, 2021
My last 4 cars have been built in Britain. My next possibly will, it certainty won’t be French or German.
March 31, 2021
Just taken delivery of an Evoque. Had 4 Land Rovers in my lifetime and every one has been a joy to drive and built in the Midlands therefore supporting British jobs.
March 31, 2021
Try Washington Tyne and Wear.
March 31, 2021
Mine was replaced with a Sunderland Nissan 3 years ago and the next will probably be Korean.
March 31, 2021
We will be checking the Asda claim of 100% British beef and dairy – to date it has seemed to be 95% Irish which we have refused to buy.
March 31, 2021
Good news from these three.We wait with interest to hear from others .Maybe difficult for Aldi and Lidl ?
I have stopped buying any food, fish, shellfish from the EU .Likewise I am no longer buying toiletries made there – Dove soap, Head & Shoulders, toothpastes, shaving soap etc
March 31, 2021
“Maybe difficult for Aldi and Lidl [to reply]?”
Why, they have distribution chains here in the UK, there is no reason why they can not supply local produce. Both Aldi & Lidl also have stores in the USA (& Australia in the case of Aldi), do you think they only sell European produce, very unlikely!
March 31, 2021
David, why have you stopped toiletries have the EU stopped our toiletry exports with excessive new demands?
March 31, 2021
Nobody has ever stopped you from buying locally sourced food or from supporting small, independent retailers.
I tend to find it is those dismissed as the āRemain backing liberal metropolitan eliteā who are happiest buying from farmerās markets or farm shops or British owned supermarkets like Waitrose. These are the same sort of people who use independent bookshops, local bakers and individual stores.
I also tend to find it is the Brexitists who are most likely to buy mass produced imported crud. They use Amazon like a tap, buy everything wrapped in plastic and use foreign owned supermarkets like Aldi and Lidl. I went on one of the once. Ghastly experience.
March 31, 2021
Do tell us, Andy – how often do you run surveys to find out the pro/anti EU views of the average household-supplies consumer, and are they properly evaluated to industry standards?
March 31, 2021
Yes they seem to prefer American fried chicken, pizza, and burgers to UK-landed fish and chips too, I tend to see.
March 31, 2021
What? Who said someone had stopped us from buying locally? You keep making stuff up.
Next youāll be telling us the EUās Common Agricultural Policy was not devised to subsidise French farmers.
March 31, 2021
Andy, Andy, Andy
Wow what a comment. I am intrigued to know how you collect your data to make such statements.
I buy from local markets, farmer markets and Waitrose, especially on Fridays for the latter, when my Waitrose card gets me twenty percent of my fresh fish. I can honestly say throughout all of my visits to the aforementioned establishments, I have never once been asked whether I support Brexit or not. Perhaps you just don’t ask pensioners such questions in case you actually find we’re not that bad after all. LOL I think that’s the modern way to end a jokey sentence.
Locally produced seasonal food is always best and helps local producers. I would never entertain the notion of buying asparagus from South America with more airmiles than Alan Whicker.
Perhaps the increase of the amount of British food in our shops will be an added bonus to Brexit.
March 31, 2021
Andy, your inability to accept we have left the EU is warping your brain. That is such a lot of unsubstantiated generalisations, even for you.
March 31, 2021
So you check the politics and Brexit views of those leaving your local supermarkets and come to these bizarre conclusions do you. Really Andy, do you have a daily compelling need to confirm the stupidity of your utterings.
Shopping is best based on need. Lidl in both Spain and the UK are excellent, much of what they sell would not make sense to be sourced from other than where they are based. Price saving is significant and cannot be achieved by distant sourcing. They do not sell everything I want but Waitrose and Carrefour can cover that at a premium I might add.
Like most in this diary you enjoy writing daily, but please try persuading us with cogent argument. You are not talking to five year olds or the dog.
March 31, 2021
You ‘tend to find’ did you stand outside with a clipboard, what another load of nonsence.
March 31, 2021
Three points, the last slightly OT, jumped out at me reading those replies;
1/. A valid point regarding “sustainable supply” was made, assuming the supermarket was talking about keeping shelves stocked (not just green mumbo-jumbo), perhaps the British consumer needs to simply re-learn the art of eating fresh what is in local/national season and preserving excess for when it is not?
2/. Non of the supermarkets say if they have been proactive in asking if their customers would be prepared to pay a little more to ‘Buy British’, and so allow the supermarkets to pass this extra to their base suppliers. – but then nor has the govt shown any wish to impose minimum ‘farm gate’ pricing for certain produce to maintain a healthy British supply either, even though they are willing to impose such price controls when it suits politically (the ‘sugar tax’ for example).
3/. It disturbs me that supermarkets are buying up the physical supply and wholesale chain, not just contacting a harvest or crop etc, this will surely lead to less competition, due to corner and convenience stores either being supplied by the wholesale side of a big supermarket or perhaps not having access to wholesale supply of certain produce.
March 31, 2021
Jerry, why would British made cheese and milk cost more than say French cheese and milk products or Danish butter? I often buy Countrylife from the Co-op often cheaper than Lurpak whose prices are all over the place from Ā£2.75 to Ā£4.25 for 500g. I do buy organic British semi-skimmed milk because I prefer the taste and pay slightly more for it.
The big supermarkets have been killing off their local Mum&Dad shops in the past ten years with their mini-markets (that often rip people off with excessive charging on butter and milk and other key essentials), a big move was to buy up big old pubs with car parks, put on loss leaders to kill off the competition then put all the prices up and restrict choice. The fewer family-owned small shops the less the cash and carry can sell and they’re all going to the wall too now and a variety of smaller say crisp manufacturers that can’t get into big store chains then go to the wall, so I agree with your concerns about the big supermarkets/chain convenience stores.
March 31, 2021
@a-tracy; UK food prices do not need to rise, and I did not say they did, but it might be to all our future benefits if we did -one way or another- pay a little more. We can not expect UK farmers & growers to invest, thus make the UK more self sustainable in food, cut food miles and allow people to buy local produce, if farm gate prices are not much more than what’s needed for the farmer to break-even, the profit on one crop off-setting losses on another.
March 31, 2021
Morrison’s has a “Help The Farmers” range of dairy products where, for example, the consumer can pay 23p extra for 4 pints of milk and this money goes directly to the farmers. I’ve been buying this for years so the demand for paying a little extra is obviously there.
Morrison’s also has a section for local producers, where the shop manager sources products from within a few miles of the store.
Morrison’s has also had an extensive fresh fish counter for many years and as the article states have recently bought its own trawler.
So well done Morrison’s for these initiatives that support British producers.
March 31, 2021
@Christine; That Ā£0.23 per four pints equates to less than Ā£0.06 per pint, and what is their current farm-gate price compared to production cost? The problem for the consumer trying to make comparisons is, only the supermarket and their suppliers know the facts, and I doubt either is going go public unless forced to [1], and as I said, I don’t see any willingness from this govt to recreate something akin to the old MMB to act as regulator.
More generally, many dairy farmers have been complaining bitterly for years that the farm-gate milk price has been far to low, and the reduction in the number of dairy farms does suggest the sector might not be healthy.
[1] one most likely, legally, can’t and the other will claim commercial sensitivity
March 31, 2021
On average a cow produces 42 pints of milk per day.
The average size of a UK herd is 148 cows.
Thatās 6,216 pints of milk per day per average farm.
If every shopper paid the 23p extra, as I do, this would give farmers Ā£372 per day on top of the profit they already make.
I agree the farm-gate milk price is too low which is why I choose to pay a fairer price and I’m glad Morrison’s gives me the opportunity to do so.
April 1, 2021
@Christine; But what does that 23p extra do for the farm-gate price IF it has been further cut, to off-set (and yes I’m being cynical here) the PR departments costs to the supermarket from their 23p extra pp promise to the customer, all it’s done is lift the averaged farm-gate price back to what it was before – who knows, only the farmer and supermarket, certainly not the consumer!
This is why I suggested a renewed roll for something like the MMB, commercially sensitive information can not be placed into the public domain but it can be disclosed to a regulator, as is the case in other industries.
The supermarkets are in business to make money for their shareholders, not do customers nor their suppliers favours, unless made to, loyalty cards are another areas that most people simply do not understand beyond an apparent “5p off your nest purchase of 250g brand X”.
March 31, 2021
The importance to me is animal welfare. I prefer to buy UK produce, and expected the UK to hold the highest standards, but it seems religious tolerance is given priority over animal welfare. I shop at Morrisons as they guarantee that Morrisons labelled meat is non-religious slaughter. Even our local farm shop uses an abattoir registered for religious slaughter, so the claim that local farm shops and butchers sell meat produced to UK animal welfare standards is not always true. When I question how their meat is produced, they either ‘don’t know’ or claim it is ‘stunned’. We know Halal ‘partial’ stunning is not eligible under UK animal welfare laws, and relies on the religious exemption. I would like to see labelling of religiously slaughtered meat, but the many petitions requesting this are always rejected by the Commons. Why? It isn’t denying anyone the right to buy religiously slaughtered meat.
March 31, 2021
Supporting local employment in any sector makes sense but you seem to be obsessed with food. Having never looked where the goods I buy are produced, I donāt have lots of cash to throw away if it comes from abroad, price and quality being my only drivers, I am not interested but again if it keeps people in employment so much the better.
You would have more credibility if having exposed a global Britain you stopped your little Englander approach, buying from abroad can gave a real positive impact on poorer communities and we should take the opportunity presented by Brexit.
Again seeking more local production but happy to see allotments and green belt built on, in your mission to concrete over the U.K. because of your failed immigration policies over umpteen years.
Off topic I see the Scottish government spend 30% more per capita than we do because of the Barnett formula. When are you going to stop this dishonesty robbing me to bribe Scotland to stay in the union or give me a day in the matter through a referendum?
March 31, 2021
@Nig l; “in your mission to concrete over the U.K.”
Oh really, for piffle sake… You have a computer go on Google maps (other websites are available) and look at the satellite view of the UK, what do you see, green, zoom in what do you see, green, you have to zoom in quite far just to see the outlines of our towns and cities. OK so it is not all that green is farm land but it is sure as hell not all concrete either!
As for migrants, if you or your (grand)children are not prepared to do the jobs the migrants do, at the going rate, thus keeping food prices low as you demand, you have no right to protest their presence, someone has to do the work…
March 31, 2021
Totally support what you say in your last paragraph Nig1. All the Barnett formula is achieving is making the SNP look good at the expense of us. I expect more cash will be thrown at them with the threat of another referendum. The Scots voters aren’t stupid. All the time they have a pro independence party in power they are assured of a better lifestyle paid for by others. What’s not to like?
March 31, 2021
I would be happy to buy products from these isles and welcome the opportunity. I would be happier if English produce was marked with the Cross of St George. As it stands Scottish produce gets the Saltire. Welsh produce gets the Dragon. English produce is concealed beneath the Union Flag (usually)
March 31, 2021
+100 been saying this for ages now.
March 31, 2021
Exactly, Iām sick of picking up English strawberries with the Union Jack sticker next to Scottish raspberries with the Saltire. Supermarkets have got form on this and obviously take their cue from politicians, ones squatting in English seats at that, who also have problems recognising England as a nation in itās own right although in the latterās case, itās a deliberate attempt to wipe England off the map.
March 31, 2021
+1
March 31, 2021
Not to point out the obvious, but if food from Wales, Ireland and Scotland is marked with the local flag, what does that tell you about the origin of food marked with just the Union Jack?
April 1, 2021
Southern Ireland, Netherlands or Germany via NI?
March 31, 2021
Good morning.
So supermarkets are supplying consumers with UK sourced food, all the while the UK Government is doing its level best to undermine farmers by encouraging them to set aside land for nature.
Not all of the food we need can be grown or suitably sourced here, as mentioned, but where possible I would like to know what assistance and long term strategy does the UK Government have regarding food supply & security on what is a growing population ? I ask as there does not seem one.
March 31, 2021
The re-wilding stuff is small beer compared with the encouragement to sell prime agricultural land for housing for the benefit of mostly large builders. Jenrick is now fiddling with planning again which he says is for town centre revival, but we know due to the law of unintended consequences (known to the rest of us as non thought out government policies) how that will end. Wasn’t Cameron going to have a ‘bonfire of regulations’? Not even a puff of smoke.
March 31, 2021
Dear Sir John–You report that Asda are tackling anti-social behaviour having discovered people wish it. Good for them. Yesterday I was in a local The C0-operative Food in a decidedly upmarket area and counted 4 young people in as many minutes blatantly not wearing masks who were disdainful to put it mildly of being reminded od what should have been their resposibilities. Hooligan types. Made them feel big I suppose but of course with no appreciable risk to themselves – only everybody else. Complaints to the Manageress brought sympathy but she told me that they had been instructed to do nothing (presumably for fear of violence – knives for all I know). What came to my mind is all the good people that love banging on about Liberty and the baloney about the need for freedom of individual decision, a minimum of restriction and all the rest. Far too many people are either ignorant of the risk or not cerebral enough to understand it or get kicks out of cocking a snoot at authority rules for that.
March 31, 2021
Cocking a snook, I think
April 1, 2021
Leslie Singleton, despite the fact that wearing masks has been proven to be harmful to the wearer, masks are Petri dishes of bacteria and fungi and cause bacterial pneumonia and do absolutely nothing to prevent the transmission of the virus because theyāre so tiny that they can easily negotiate their way through the piece of cloth
April 1, 2021
Please provide incontrovertible evidence that masks do “nothing” to prevent transmission, considering that they do stop water droplets which can carry the virus particles.
March 31, 2021
It is commendable that the supermarkets are listening to their customers. One of my concerns about Morrisons meat is that they do not disclose whether it is halal. The fact that they don’t suggests it is, thus denying the customer choice.
I also prefer to buy local. In a local town 2 miles away from where I live there is a monthly farmers market and craft fair of about 30 stalls, held in the small town hall. The produce here is locally grown or made. The home-made pies, preserves and soups are superior to what is purchased in shops. The eggs, the vegetables and flowers are really fresh, pulled and cut that day. The wide choice of meats are excellent as are the locally produced sausages and bacon, which are not inflated with water and excess fat. The craft fair is ideal to find a gift for the person ‘who has everything’, along with the locally produced soaps, wooden and slate goods, unique to the area.
Apart from the excellent fayre, is the lovely atmosphere browsing amongst the stalls and chatting to the stall holders, with a string quintet playing in the corner, along with a small cafe area where you can buy a cup of tea and a home-made bun. Christmas time has a choir from the local primary school singing carols. But not now.
Sadly, because of the ridiculous distance restriction lockdown rules, it allowed for about 6 – 8 stalls, queues of people waiting, sometimes in the rain, has subsequently had a negative effect on these really local small traders. This latest lockdown has resulted in it being closed. I sincerely hope some common sense is, metaphorically, knocked into this horrible draconian government and its myopic lackeys sooner rather than later. So people can again choose where they can buy local produce.
March 31, 2021
The UK government has little interest in British farming. They would much rather concrete over the entire country for housing for mass immigration, needed to push up GDP to support their ever growing spending plans.
They have their eye on country property, hoping it will be bought up by speculators for second homes and holiday lets, pushing up prices and increasing the stamp duty tax take. And if its foreign speculators, so much the better, as that will contribute to inward investment.
March 31, 2021
Ps food related, why not channel your reforming zeal into the question of deforestation to produce palm oil etc. The government having clubbed tobacco firms for zillions in tax is now undertaking a virtue signalling exercise re cigarette butts.
Instead why not do something truly meaningful? Every company in the U.K. that uses on a large scale palm oil etc should either demonstrate replanting or pay a tax to go specifically for that and not into the pockets of corrupt officials.
We lead a climate change meeting later on in the year. Global alliances are in fashion. We should create one to replace lost rain forest.
March 31, 2021
Sir John, thankyou,
It confirms the supermarket ethos. Just one makes an effort to support UK Fishing, while one mentions it try’s. The others will stick to long haul supplies. The real thing it highlights is that while the supermarket concept has a lot of good points it set out to destroy the local retail communities by predatory pricing at the outset. Then to raise them as soon as the competition was removed. They killed the Fish Monger, the Baker, and the Butcher. Yes some were not to great, but they were part of a community.
The predatory removal of competition, in the end means there are no winners. Why do we the taxpayer pay for the Office of Fair Trading (OFT), especially when time and time again it demonstrates a lack of interest and teeth. It will go for the small unprotect, but leave well alone the real fault lines. It comes over as another QUANGO to keep the ‘boy’ employed and nothing else.
March 31, 2021
OFT was a non-ministerial department. It existed from 1973 to 1 April 2014. OFTās responsibilities passed to a number of different organisations when it closed.
You can tell the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) about:
anti-competitive practices (eg price fixing and bid rigging)
a market not working well
unfair terms in a contract
any issues related to poor competition
March 31, 2021
Regarding the first comment that a vet needs to be called before cheese can be sent to the EU – I do hope Westminster is aware of these situations and hopefully we have our own measures that are applied to EU products – but it always seems a one wat street.
March 31, 2021
Of course we can apply our own measures. That means blockages to imports, which makes goods more expensive and harder for British consumers to find. Meanwhile it does nothing to help our exporters, facing new red tape caused by Brexit. You really need to understand that for ordinary British businesspeople Brexit brings nothing but pain and job losses, and it gets worse every week
April 1, 2021
How many “ordinary” British business people trade with the EU as compared with those that don’t, exactly?
March 31, 2021
Excuse me but where are the newly regenerated local shops in all this? (Haha!).
They were always the purveyors of quality, fresh, locally sourced food. AND they knew their produce.
Not to mention the fact that the farms and growers have always been around and were largely brought to their knees by the supermarkets.
Whatever they promises, supermarkets are not easy to deal with.
I would sooner go to a proper high street or a farm shop.
March 31, 2021
Supermarkets werenāt exactly helpful to the milk market were they?
And legislation ( no doubt lobbied for ) put a stop to widespread proper milk.
āThe scienceā sooooo useful you know, was followed!
No more farm gate milk.
Project Fear isnāt a new and clever thing!
Look at eggs and the salmonella rubbish.
Sales declined by 60%! 400m eggs destroyed.
āI had eggs for breakfastā ( Mrs T), put a stop to that!
March 31, 2021
Off topic. I hope Mr. Redwood will allow me to post this.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/mar/30/eu-plan-threatens-british-participation-in-hi-tech-research
You have to love the EU. They just love to stick to an agreement- eh Andy? The country that was first in to save their sorry arses from fascism and the Nazis, that has been a leading contributor to anti-terrorism and a solid member of NATO is NOW, ACCORDING TO THE ****ING EU, A SECURITY RISK.
Andy, these people are full of bile and poison. I am so glad we voted to Leave. I just wish we had actually left. We will actually leave soon. And the EU will disintegrate with the idiots it has in charge acting as if they run the world.
March 31, 2021
So in short you are amazed that the UK, now it has left the EU, is treated as if it has left the EU. Who knew?
March 31, 2021
Wow, intelligence is not your strong point. We left the EU with an agreement and now the EU are going back on it. Not quite the same thing as your inane remarks about āleaving the EU, who knewā. It should be āleaving the EU with an agreement and the EU immediately going back on it. Whoād have thought it!ā
April 3, 2021
MW, Not so simple as you might think. The UK indeed retained the right to pay into and participate in the EUās Horizon Europe research programme. But this programme is multi-facetted, with research in all types of science. Participation in the HE does not give any country the right to participate in any or all sub-projects, an interested country has to put forward a proposal for each and every participation, then reviewed by all potential partners.
The present stumbling block appears related to quantum computing, a domain in which a large number of countries worldwide are already active including some with prototype pre-commercial machines (including the UK in Didcot, look for NQCC, NQTP). Given the potential huge economic impact of such machines it might be conceivable that all the participating actors want to know āwho is exactly working with whomā in terms of development. This might in fact be in the UKās interest.
Iām afraid your knee-jerk reaction is not really helpful. No need to call back 1940, Dunkirk and the rest to understand the possible difficulties in such international collaboration.
April 3, 2021
And France is investing ā¬200m/year for five years on QC (a total of ā¬1.8bn over the next 10?years) whereas for the time being the UK has only Ā£10m on the NQTP. So maybe France has some reasons to be wary of the UK wanting to the part of such an EU project …
March 31, 2021
Yes I saw this and was as aghast as yourself. What a load of ungrateful, conceited bar stewards.
March 31, 2021
Absolutely the right question, Mark B. In a sane world, demand for local produce by supermarkets as shown SJR’s post, plus consumers’ preference for local produce, would mean the government would want to incentivise UK farming. Not this government. etc ed
March 31, 2021
Agree
March 31, 2021
Very commendable and I’m happy to see their ongoing efforts but the supermarkets appear to be picking the low hanging fruit, the easy produce and good for PR.
From my limited experience of shopping I believe supermarkets sell other products and not just food and drinks. What is their track record in selling and helping British manufactured non-food items. A more difficult ask of them perhaps but just as worthwhile.
Still, it is a pity I need to shop at Aldi to buy British rape seed oil because the last time I tried to purchase this item from my local Sainsburys there were three rape seed oil products non of which were British.
March 31, 2021
Thank you Sir John for sharing these interesting responses from the large supermarkets.
The replies were a breath of fresh air as for far too long, locally produced food has been absent from their shelves.
I would be interested to know what the “Fair price for farmers” regarding milk is per litre, given that supermarkets have constantly pushed down the price paid for decades now.
I see a specialist shop has opened in Broad Street selling locally produced food and I wish them luck.
I do think Wokingham missed a golden opportunity to open an Oxford style indoor market when Woolworths and Marks and Spencer left the town and vacated two of the town’s biggest retail spaces.
I look forward to seeing the rest of the replies from the other big supermarkets when and if you receive them.
Reply Wokingham does have the outdoor market by the Town Hall. I would welcome more stalls more often though that will need the Council’s approval.
March 31, 2021
Asda: “We keep our fish sourcing under review, but due to the need of having to maintain a
sustainable supply, this does sometimes come from overseas.”
And there was me, thinking fish came from under the sea. š
I think they could have worded that differently.
March 31, 2021
Not entirely off topic, a day rarely goes by without something popping up to make it useful to recall:
In its entirety as measured by GDP the UK economy is worth about Ā£2 trillion, that is Ā£2000 billion.
More precisely in 2019, the last pre-pandemic year, UK GDP was Ā£2173 billion:
https://www.statista.com/statistics/281744/gdp-of-the-united-kingdom/
but Ā£2000 billion is much more easily remembered and is close enough for rough comparisons.
So, for example, when the Daily Express praises Liz Truss over her new trade deal with Thailand:
https://www.express.co.uk/news/politics/1416562/Brexit-news-trade-deal-latest-liz-truss-asia-Thailand-European-union
“… and last year trade with the UK was worth more than Ā£5 billion”,
clearly at 0.25% of UK GDP that would be pretty small beer even if it was true; while just as clearly at 45% of UK GDP the Ā£890 billion valuation of all the trade agreements with 66 countries around the world as well as the 27 countries still in the EU is a massive exaggeration.
March 31, 2021
There is one big weakness in the UK food chain. This is the logistical arrangements for fish and shellfish distribution. I have made the assumption that the British public would buy it were it available, maybe erronious. The odd van coming from Cornwall or the supermarket logistics are not what I have in mind.
Look at Spain, large professional counters, displaying a vast range of fish and shellfish. All of it bright of eye, fresh whether from the Med or the cold waters of the Atlantic, and not smelling of fish. It does not matter where you are in Spain the range is fully available. I can at times even buy Percebes in Finestrat knowing they were picked by hand the previous day in Galicia. Oysters the same. We need that same distribution/logistics set up in the UK. I suspect that this is the key to the end price of fish. It all comes from the sea, fishermen use similar methods to catch it or farm it. The price hike in the UK comes after it lands on the quay. The disparity in price is one of the main reasons potential UK customers do not buy it.
Buying on line is a way to get good deals on most anything in the UK but not on fish or shellfish. Prices are unbelievable, check it out. Prices may reflect what they are doing, but the economies of scale would decimate what the public are expected to pay. That is my experience of life in two market places.
March 31, 2021
This is all a good start – but we need to be prepared to a much higher degree than this.
With the Grand Solar Minimum coming into play, which will see the weather Swing Between Extremes, we have to be concerned that global lockdowns will also affect what we have available to eat as well.
The Grand Solar Minimum means:
The Sun is once again Spotless – in Europe, much of the continent can expect a rare April burial of snow as the month progresses
How is the government preparing for this?
March 31, 2021
How is the government preparing for this?
By making all farming activity electric by 2030 !
March 31, 2021
Would love to buy British. But where is all this extra British food going to be grown? Have you forgot the world is being welcomed by our govts and we are being made to pay for their houses and lives here. All houses and no fields eventually – and won’t be too far in the future at the way the population is growing.
March 31, 2021
Buy British! Shropshire oranges, Kent kiwi fruit, Lancashire lemons. And of course French passports. Anything to avoid talking about the reality of Brexit – red tape, blockages to trade, firms moving their base and their jobs out of the UK to the EU. Every. single. day
March 31, 2021
The UK unemployment rate is currently 5%. The EU’s is over 8% or half again higher.
March 31, 2021
I offer two fingers to the EU in response to the two fingers they offer us. I donāt give a flying **** if I never visit the EU again or never buy another thing from there. And if you are suffering withdrawal symptoms, you know who to blame. THEM.
March 31, 2021
The products you list GF, are readily available from outside Europe.
April 1, 2021
Don’t forget the German noodles, coffee and chocolate, Irish bananas etc – it’s amazing how much foodstuff magically appears in those places that don’t actually produce it.
We should grow what we are able, import the rest directly from appropriate sources and vigorously encourage local commerce of local produce and re-shoring of production that used to be here.
March 31, 2021
On the strength of response published and comments contributed I’ll give Morrisons a go. They are 11 miles away in a direction I rarely travel but it seems like it will be worth it.
March 31, 2021
Rather than being ANGRY (NOT including Sir John here – some / a lot of Brexiters are angry which is their great weakness – angry in the wrong way and/or too angry), let’s, instead, CREATE more a VISION why Sovereignty is a WONDERFUL THING!!
It’s easy to be angry. Far more challenging is to CREATE a positive vision for Sovereignty and to be JOYFUL about that!!!! If we can do that, then we can get far more Brits buying British-produced food. And much more.
And then Brexit COULD be a great success – in the long term.
March 31, 2021
All the usual flannel from the supermarkets, the only thing that they care about is their bottom line, you only have to see all the unhealthy foods temptingly displayed to understand exactly what their game is, they employ specialists in the art of extraction of cash from your wallets, I donāt believe for one second all the b*ll*cks about being the farmers friend, their only interest is screwing them for the cheapest possible price
April 1, 2021
Well said.
All the junk these supermarkets promote, leading to obesity, diabetes, high cholesterol and heart disease, inflammation, strokes, cancer, and all kinds of other horrible diseases, costing the country billions in terms of people needing to use the NHS, lower productivity and so on.
March 31, 2021
I think there could be an unexpected side-effect here. When consumers source British food, that will mean sourcing Scottish, Irish and Welsh food. So Brexit will have the long term effect of bringing the UK closer together, not tearing it apart.
It would give me enormous satisfaction to see that effect in some future press “analysis” of Brexit, after all the confident predictions of the demise of the UK.
March 31, 2021
I will always support the EU and the EU flag.
In respect to the letters from the major supermarkets – all seems a bit PR to me and glosses over the reality.
However I do like Tesco idea of supporting training for young farmers. To me land based education is at the heart of sustainable local food production.
Sadly this GOV plays lip service to meaningful support to the Agriculture and Horticulture colleges and education. A hell of a lot more should and needs to be done other wise simply coming out with sound bites about UK produce is meaningless
March 31, 2021
You sound like a right nationalist. Do you salute the EU flag?
March 31, 2021
I like the green benefit of buying locally.
It seems you do not DB.
Very odd
March 31, 2021
I think that the most notable characteristics of the posts from Remainers is how narrow they are. They see everything in terms of the pro-European snobberies of a small number of consumers.
Other people have a longer perspective. If the EU want to play silly games with trade, investors are going to see the opportunities of producing inside the UK and avoiding trade barriers altogether.
The EU’s obstructionism is simply going to reverse a bit of globalization and create investment and business opportunities for people who can see beyond the ends of their own noses.
March 31, 2021
Thank you, Sir John, very useful to know!
March 31, 2021
FFS, the guy published some really good progress of what supermarkets are doing for the UK market and you lot can do is puss and moan about Brexit and EU
Move on get a life
March 31, 2021
As well as a political crisis, Brazil is now suffering a “runaway” Covid crisis, with over three thousand deaths a day, ICUs completely over-committed, shortages of ICU staff and even basic ordinary supplies. The Brazil healthcare system is being described as “collapsed”.
This is the sort of situation where the UK could make a real impact. Not only do we have secure supplies of vaccine, but we have trained ICU staff and a very *low* occupancy,
We even have a Navy and Air Force capable of getting emergency supplies to Brazil fast enough to make at least the beginning of an impact and save lives. If we want to help, and as a bonus “world influence” and “Global Britain” here is an open door to walk through.
March 31, 2021
There is no such thing as āworld influenceā and āglobal Britainā. They are empty, meaningless expressions. If we are in a position to help, letās just help and only ask in return that next time we meet them in the football World Cup, they go easy on us in the first half.
April 1, 2021
They were not “empty, meaningless expressions” when we were supposedly going to lose them by leaving the EU.
March 31, 2021
Dutch tomatoes are completely tasteless. French apples are revolting. Spanish produce is alright. Letās ask Spain if the want to do a separate trade deal outside the EU. Iām up for it.
March 31, 2021
https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/ian-paisley-government-high-court-northern-ireland-irish-sea-b927353.html
“Class action launched against Government over NI Protocol”
“The commercial challenge in the High Court claims the post-Brexit Irish Sea trading arrangements infringe on the economic rights of citizens.”