Natalie Elphicke, Member of Parliament for Dover and Deal, has signed an open letter from over 100 MPs calling on supermarkets to highlight the very best of British produce by incorporating a ‘Buy British’ section online.
The letter, led by Bosworth MP Dr Luke Evans and supported by 110 cross-Party MPs, states ‘Our ask is simple, create a tab that collates produce from farmers,’ citing consumer choice, environmental benefits and support for farmers as reasons to make the change.
The ‘Buy British’ tab would collate produce from across the UK so customers have “greater power in their choices”, enabling them to support the nation’s farmers ‘quickly and easily’.
The MPs say the change could be achieved ‘by the click of a mouse’, with many shops already labelling British products, therefore the online change is simply bringing the produce to the fore in a ‘one-stop online shop’ for the public to better identify homegrown produce.
The open letter champions the work of Britain’s farmers in ensuring food security, supporting strong local economies and preserving and protecting the environment, while empowering the public to be able to make easy choices in how they shop for their food.
Natalie Elphicke, Member of Parliament for Dover & Deal, said
“Many of us like to choose to Buy British in the supermarket – from fruit and vegetables to eggs or meat. The ‘Buy British’ online initiative would allow shoppers to have the same ability to quickly and easily back British produced foods.
“We know the public want to know more about where their food comes from and how it is produced. This simple change on a webpage helps to ensure home grown food is easily identifiable, something I wholeheartedly support.”
“The Buy British campaign is a great way of supporting British farmers, improving consumer choice and reducing the carbon footprint too.”
Minette Batters, President of the National Farmers Union, said “We have been asking retailers to commit to signposting British produce for a number of years, so it’s great to see MPs and their constituents getting behind the idea of a ‘Buy British tab’ online.
“We know from our own independent survey that 86% of the public want to buy more British food, but it is often tricky to determine what products are produced in the UK and this simple change would help the shoppers do that.”