Discerning shoppers ‘still want food that is ethically produced’
THE OUTGOING leader of Britain’s largest farm assurance scheme believes shoppers’ desire for ethically-produced food may be enough to temper any rise in cheaper foreign produce flooding supermarket shelves post-Brexit.
There are fears within the food and farming industry of unrestricted imports of foreign food as a result of post-Brexit trade deals but the chief executive of Red Tractor Assurance, David Clarke – the leader of a concerted effort to restore confidence in British food after the food scares of the 1990s – said the public had grown far more discerning about the quality and provenance of food.
Mr Clarke, who has announced that he will retire as Red Tractor chief after 19 years at the helm later this month, said it remained to be seen what weight government would attach to food and farming within the trade deals it negotiates with the EU and beyond, but he questioned how far British food standards could be undermined.
Speaking to Mr Clarke said: “No matter what trade deals are done, is that (a flood of cheap foreign food) going to be acceptable to our retailers, branded processors and ultimately our consumers because our retailers don’t stock a range of products that suits them, it is about what their consumers want.
“We have in the UK a desire for safe food that is ethically produced. How low people will chase the price and give away the ethics is debatable.”
Mr Clarke said the Government’s approach to trade negotiations was far from clear.
“We are in completely uncharted territory. I know we are 11 months on from the referendum but there are so many irons in the fire, other industries, everything. The fact that we all recognised we had a referendum but never expected it to go the way it did – I don’t think there was a lot of contingency planning and we are making it up as we go along.
“There are so many irons in the fire and I don’t think we are seeing any clarity on any of them.”
As he prepares to depart an organisation he has built from scratch, Mr Clarke insisted the Red Tractor assurance scheme is as relevant as ever, having evolved from being a “crisis management” tool to establishing the most widely adopted provenance food logo in the world that guarantees high animal welfare and production standards on British farms.
The scheme must continue to adopt a “light touch” to farm inspections to ensure its farmers are not overcome during uncertain times for the industry; however standards must not be allowed to slip, he said.
“The industry recognises it has to maintain good standards and we have a role to play to remind them what those standards are, and hopefully with a light touch by making farm visits to point out what needs tweaking. We know it has not been an easy time for farmers at a time when farm profitability is negligible in most sectors but if we allow standards to slip, it’s a downward spiral.”
Mr Clarke will be succeeded by current chairman Jim Moseley.