Farron challenges supermarkets to buy British

3.00.00pm GMT Tue 25th Mar 2008

Liberal Democrat MP Tim Farron today challenged the nation's major supermarkets - Asda, Tesco and Sainsbury's - to follow suit with their competitor Morrisons and source their meat from Britain. Morrisons announced last week that they would now source all beef from Britain, in addition to their already British lamb, pork and poultry, and Farron has written to the other major supermarkets asking them to follow suit. Furthermore, Mr Farron has posted a parliamentary motion, in order to gain support for this cause from his parliamentary colleagues.

Speaking after making his challenge, Tim Farron MP said:

"I congratulate Morrisons on making this decision, which shows that supermarkets can make a conscientious decision that truly benefits this country. Buying British is a decision we all can make which reaps many benefits. Firstly, it aids our farmers by providing them with more sales, and therefore helps the countryside too, lest we forget that it is farmers who keep it in the stunning condition it is currently in. Secondly, animal welfare is helped by buying British, as we have some of the highest animal welfare standards in the world."

"Finally, buying British helps reduce the number of miles that food has to travel before it arrives on our plate, therefore reducing CO2 emissions and helping the environment. Some non-British meat has to travel from as far away as South America, which cannot be good for our carbon targets. For these reasons I implore all of the other supermarkets to follow suit. We can help too, by asking our supermarkets, wherever we shop, where their meat comes from, and by ensuring we only buy meat which comes from Britain. It is about time supermarkets decided to care about the environment, animal welfare and British farmers, rather than just their profits."