Fairtrade for British farmers

This year Waitrose is supporting a campaign with Country Living magazine and Farmers Guardian newspaper entitled 'Fair trade for British farmers'.

The campaign highlights that although many of us now chose to buy ethically traded products, these principles need to be extended to domestic farming.

One of the key elements to achieving this is that the farmer receives a decent price for his produce. By applying the principles of fair trade to British farmers this could be guaranteed. In a nutshell: how many of us have made a cup of coffee smug in the knowledge that a producer in Kenya has been paid a fair price for it, but when we added the milk, didn’t give a second thought to the farmer in Sussex who is going under because he isn’t receiving enough to cover even the costs of his production?

At Waitrose, we believe that few things in life are more important than the food people buy. We are adamant that the availability of good, healthy food is not just essential but also one of life’s great pleasures. Therefore farmers, as the food producers, deserve our passionate support through fair prices and respect.

The Fair Trade for British Farmers campaign was launched during Fair Trade Fortnight 2007 and focuses particularly on lamb, beef and dairy - the farming that has shaped Britain’s countryside - to illustrate both the problem and examples of good practice.