Why Eat Food From British Farms?

Eating food from British farms: it feels like something that’s a good thing to do, but are there any great reasons for getting on board?

Here at The Wild Oven, we think so. Our reasons are: sustainability; traceability; self-sufficiency; and seasonality.

Let’s start by exploring sustainability. This comes in both environmental and economical forms.  Buying from British farms makes a positive contribution to the sustainability of the British economy.  When you buy from British farms you’re supporting British jobs. Not just the direct jobs on the farm, but also the indirect jobs of those that supply goods and services to the farm.  In addition, by buying British you avoid making a negative dent into our balance of payments. Fair enough, what difference is a few pounds going to make when the deficit is in the realm of billions? Well, a big difference if everybody did their part every week.

Now for environmental sustainability. It’s a down and out guarantee that by eating food from Britain you’re eating food that hasn’t travelled half way around the world in an aeroplane. And we all know that flying in aeroplanes has a negative impact on the environment.

This leads us on to another strong reason for buying from British farms: traceability. This is something recent food scandals have taught us is important. By buying direct from the farm, a trustworthy secondary supplier or by buying based on accreditation schemes such as the Red Tractor, you can trust what you’re buying. Trust that what you are told you are eating is indeed what you are eating. Trust that the standards used in producing the food are up to scratch.

Buying from British farms means a positive contribution to our food self-sufficiency as a nation.  By demanding food from British farms you ensure that British farms carry on producing food. Now, don’t get us wrong, we’re all for globalisation from the point of view of increased economies of scale, however there’s a but. With a growing demand for food, limited resources to produce it and extreme weather conditions, what happens if there’s a food shortage? Will other countries feed us over feeding their own? Our money is right there on no.

And finally, there’s seasonality. By eating food from British farms you’re going to be eating with the seasons. What does this mean? This means a reconnection with natural cycles and improved quality. Though my favourite thing about eating seasonally has got to be the anticipation. That unbeatable excitement when foods appear back on the menu.

For us, each reason on it’s own is enough. By putting the reasons together, the case for buying from British farms is a case that we, for one, can’t ignore.