Asda behind on buy British drive
SEVEN of the UK’s major retailers have now responded to the call for supermarkets to back the nation’s farmers by adding ‘buy British’ tabs to their websites.
Tesco is the latest national supermarket to join the campaign, a er it recently launched a ‘Best of British’ section to its website.
Other supermarkets who have taken up the call to back Britain’s farmers include Sainsbury’s, Waitrose, Morrisons, Aldi, Ocado and the Co-op.
Asda is the only major UK retailer which is yet to announce a similar move.
It follows an open letter by Conservative MP Dr Luke Evans to the chief executives of eight major supermarkets asking for a filter which would direct shoppers to homegrown food.
The letter was co-signed by 126 cross-party MPs, and echoed a long-standing NFU ask dating back to 2016.
Tesco’s chief commercial ocer, Ashwin Prasad said supporting British farmers remained critical to ensuring the UK had a robust food industry.
“We count ourselves as proud champions of British agriculture, striving to source produce from the UK wherever possible,” he said.
“Our customers share our love for British produce, and we want to do all we can to make it as easy to find as possible, no matter how they shop with us.”
NFU deputy president David Exwood added it was ‘brilliant’ to see Tesco follow six other supermarkets’ lead to add a buy British section on their website.
“Not only does this help support Dr Luke Evans’ fantastic campaign to help back British farmers and growers, but it also oers shoppers a direct way to support their local farms and buy homegrown produce.
“We know from our own independent research that the public want to buy more British food from retailers and that’s why we have been championing this important issue since 2016.”
Dr Luke Evans, MP for
Bosworth, said he was pleased to welcome Tesco to the fray.
“It’s great to see the UK’s largest supermarket join other major retailers in implementing an online ‘Buy British’ section.
“This is really welcome news and a step forward in supporting our nation’s food growers and producers by showcasing over
500 homegrown items, with everything from meat and vegetables to dairy products now easier to find.”
Following repeated calls from the NFU and more than 27,000 members of the public, the former Defra Secretary Thérèse
Coey announced her support on Back British Farming Day for signposting customers to ‘buy British’ when they shop online.
The Conservative Environment Network has backed the ‘Buy British’ button in their farming manifesto and Prime Minister
Rishi Sunak also lent his support to the campaign and called for industry-led action.
Mr Sunak said: “We will continue to encourage all retailers to do all they can to showcase the incredible food produced right here, in the United Kingdom.”
Open letter signatories to Dr Evans’ letter included former
Defra Secretary Theresa Villiers, chair of the Environmental Audit Committee Philip Dunne MP, climate minister Graham Stuart and members of the Commons’ Efra Committee.
The letter was signed by representatives from all the main political parties. It said that the “small change” would give “customers greater autonomy over their food choices” and could boost seasonal eating.
Former NFU president Minette
nd
Batters said it was ‘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 o en tricky to determine what products are produced in the UK and this simple change would help shoppers do that.”