British beef & lamb under threat – and with it the coutryside warns NFU

As consumer and environmental organisations join forces with the NFU today to launch a campaign to highlight the importance of Britain's threatened beef and lamb sector, a report has shown 72 per cent of shoppers want to be able to buy British beef and lamb, and 80 per cent believe supermarkets should be offering farmers a fair deal.

In a show of strength to harness consumer support, the NFU, together with The Townswomen's Guild, the Women's Food and Farming Union, the National Council of Women, the English Beef and Lamb Executive (Eblex), The Campaign to Protect Rural England and Farmers Guardian, is launching 'Why beef and sheep farming matters' aimed at raising awareness of the current crisis facing the sector and encouraging people to buy British.

The campaign is calling for a fair price for beef and sheep farmers, who produce the finest quality meat in the world, which is in demand from consumers as never before. But unless price at the farm gate increases, Great British dishes such as a traditional Sunday roast or shepherds pie could have to be made using imported meat.

And with beef and sheep farmer numbers falling by 12,500 in the last ten years, not only will consumers be unable to buy British, but the landscape will suffer as a consequence, with upland landscapes such as Dartmoor, the Yorkshire Dales and the Lakeland Fells most at risk from under-grazing and agricultural dereliction.