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BROAD ALLIANCE CALLS FOR BIG CHANGES IN UK FARMING

13 Jun 2001

Tony Blair and the new Rural Affairs Minister Margaret Beckett will today be lobbied by a broad alliance of farmers and environmental groups including the leader of small farmers in France, José Bové, to call for Britain's small and family farmers be given priority in any post foot and mouth review of farming.

A delegation from Friends of the Earth, The Small and Family Farmers Alliance, the International Society for Ecology and Culture and This Land is Ours will hand in a joint letter to the Prime Minister and Mrs Beckett [1].

In the joint letter the groups are calling for Government:

• Shift economic incentives, investments in research and development and direct subsidies away from production for export toward farm-diversification (of both crops and livestock) for regional and local markets.
• Maintain and restore local food processing capacity by ensuring that the costs of implementing and monitoring health and safety regulations are proportionate to throughputs.
• Cut investment in the infrastructures for global trade.
• Reduce cross-border trade in identical agricultural products, and stop imports of food and livestock produced using systems or products illegal in Britain
• Support initiatives for local production for local consumption.

Pete Riley of Friends of the Earth said:

“The government has signalled a new start for farming and the environment by scrapping MAFF. What is now needed are clear decisive policies which allow all farmers to produce high quality food and a high quality environment whilst making a profit”.

Michael Hart of Small and Family Farmers Alliance said:

"It is clear that farmers and environmentalists around the world , must work together to counter the effects of globalisation on food, farming and the environment. Without this coming together family farming systems will be
destroyed and agri-business will succeed"

Helena Norberg-Hodge, Director of ISEC said :

"We urgently need to shift policies towards diversification and localisation instead of ever-larger monocultures for global markets. This is not a pipe dream: practical and successful demonstrations already exist."

Huw Pritchard, The Land is Ours said:

“Ever increasing global competition is forcing small and family farmers around the world, in rich and poor countries, off the land - leaving ever larger agri-businesses struggling to compete in a world market”.

NOTES TO EDITORS:

[1] The delegation including José Bové will visit the new Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs at 11.00am on 13th June followed by Downing St at 11.30am . This will be followed by a press conference at 12.30pm St James Church Conference Centre 197, Piccadilly. Copy of letter to Tony Blair to follow.

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