Should we buy more British food?

Is the UK lacking in food patriotism?

A survey by food think-tank IGD suggests national loyalty is not enough to promote the sale of British food.

The report says that while 87% of people consider farming to be important to the country's economy, only one in five will go out of their way to buy British food.

This comes as European Union farmers move from production subsidies towards producing what customers will pay for.

Do you think we're importing too much of our food? How do you decide what food to buy?

This debate is now closed. Read a selection of your comments below.

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The following comments reflect the balance of opinion we have received so far:

We're all grown ups so leave us alone to decide what we want John R. Smith, UK

Ban all subsidies, clearly label food with its country of origin and then let me make my own choice based on what I see in front of me. If I chose to shop in a supermarket or farmers' market the same rules should apply. We're all grown ups so leave us alone to decide what we want, how much we wish to pay for it and where we're going to buy it.
John R. Smith, UK

We have all this tremendous agricultural land and centuries of perfected farming practices. We can easily feed ourselves, organically, and anyone else besides, because the idea of depending on anyone else for food (we see what happens with oil) is just obscene, let alone the costs in money and pollution for shipping and flying all these luxury foods (as they mostly are) from around the world.
Anonymous

Yes, we should buy more British food and for once I don't blame the supermarkets! They only provide what the majority of customers want. Cheap rubbish that is produced as cheaply as possible. Go to France, Spain, Italy etc and you see quality, seasonal, locally produced fruit and vegetables in their supermarkets because that is what the customer expects, not a dry, foul tasting out of season satsuma that's only redeeming feature is that it is cheap.
Alistair, Cambridge, Cambs

Might be a bit hard to do. My diet is centred around rice, pulses, spices, peppers and things like avocado (I love guacamole). I grew up in Lincolnshire the grain basket of Britain, and played in a garden with combine harvesters going by on the other side of the hedge but I don't remember seeing any of the above growing anywhere.
Roger, London, UK

I always look for British items wherever I shop Hanna H, UK

Buying British is important. Not only because it's fresher but also because thousands and thousands of tonnes of fossil fuels are burnt in order to transport food around the globe. I always look for British items wherever I shop, particularly in fresh food. At a friend's house recently I was amazed to be served Australian cheddar (after all cheddar is as English as apple pie). When I discussed this with her she said she had never considered the environmental cost.
Hanna H, UK

If we don't buy British food there will be no British farming. If anyone thinks this doesn't matter, presumably they don't remember rationing - and that was in the days when we had more productive farms than second homes and tourist parks.
Edwood, Malvern, UK

I bought a couple of packs of (rather expensive) unusual variety British apples at a big supermarket the other day - they were delicious, but kept very poorly. On the other hand, the staple loose-buy apples taste of cardboard, but keep for weeks and weeks. Sadly, the keeping quality is what sells, not the taste. Result: supermarkets buy, and growers breed, varieties with the main property of keeping well.
Jon G, Huddersfield, UK

I tried to buy locally-grown tomatoes in the supermarket recently and the choice was between Spanish and Dutch. At least the labelling now tells you this, but if there isn't a British option available then you can't choose it!
Anonymous

I would love supermarkets to stock more British produce Henry, Cambridge

I would love supermarkets to stock more British produce. I also have no interest in whether every fruit or vegetable is identical, so how about using more of the crops and to bring the prices down a bit?
Henry, Cambridge

In an age where finally an effort is being made for people to eat more healthily, one major reason for buying British food is that as opposed to most imported fruit and veg, British food is seasonal, i.e. fresh and not artificially grown out of season. The difference? Seasonal food tastes 10 times better, and is much healthier.
Ed Karten, London, England

I try to buy British food (although I'm often not given the choice)and I also drive a British car. Not just out of patriotism but out of self interest. We British are making ourselves redundant by our purchasing decisions and if all primary and secondary industry workers are unemployed, who is going to pay for public sector workers and who is going to be able to afford to shop in the supermarkets?
Sally, Sheffield, UK

I buy British first, Commonwealth second and French never.
Sally, Sheffield, UK

At the very least during the growing season local produce ought to be freely available in our shops Linda A, Birmingham UK

At the very least during the growing season local produce ought to be freely available in our shops. It is understandable that the public wants to be able to buy things throughout the year, but why should locally grown food not be available - this is free market thinking gone mad, and it is part of a whole syndrome of marketing strategy that is actually devastating our planet by it's wastefulness.
Linda A, Birmingham UK

I have a weekly box of organic fruit, veg and eggs delivered. Sure it costs more but nothing gets wasted and the taste is sooooo superior to supermarket goods. Especially Spanish tomatoes which I read are grown under plastic in a chemical sludge. Yuk!
CC, London. UK

I always try to buy British goods. Not due to any sense of patriotism but because it just makes sense. Food is not expensive whatever some think. We probably spend less as a percentage of our income than we ever did on the basics. Quality and environmental issues should be uppermost in peoples minds. I buy organic and free range when possible. Why do we buy apples from the other side of the world when we still produce more varieties than anyone else. Oops I forgot,they are 20p cheaper. Buy locally,buy quality and by not going to the fast food restaurant as often you'll save the extra money.
Philip Smith, Leeds

To the gentleman who buys nothing from his own country, because he expects our farmers to compete without subsides, is he aware that thousands of people farming small and medium sized farms have gone bankrupt in the last few years? The ones who remain have not seen prices for their produce rise for ten years and milk producers are not even covering their costs. Many farmers are living on less than £10,000 a year and claiming benefits.

Yes, prices in the shops are high, but that is because of the unscrupulous tactics of the supermarkets who grind their producers down and then charge high prices for their goods. Food is a basic necessity and if we lose our farmers then what happens when other countries, quite rightly, want to have equal living standards to our own and put their prices up? Food production cannot be resurrected overnight. I hope Nat from London does not lose his livelihood because the service he provides can be provided cheaper elsewhere. Though I expect he wouldn't mind because in an open market, "freedom of choice" is what counts.
Kate Sutton, Camberley, Surrey

For all those who have commented that they would buy British if it were cheaper... a year ago we switched from buying regular, non-organic food from the supermarkets to buying organic food from our local farm shops and farmers' market. Our food bill has decreased by over 10% (and our food, particularly apples and potatoes, is much, much more tasty).
H, Edinburgh, UK

How wonderful it would be if we, once again, had the old varieties of English apples. We don't care if they are not all the same size or whatever the criteria is now for an apple, just as long as they had the lovely flavours we once knew, anything would be better than the tasteless, foreign cold store ones that seem to be around these days.
RH, Milton Keynes

I deliberately look for British produce first but most of the time supermarkets don't sell it Ian, London, England

I deliberately look for British produce first but most of the time supermarkets don't sell it. The latest one was English apple sellers are stopping selling to supermarkets because the spuermarkets were trying to exploit them by cutting margins too tight. Try a market day- better prices and better goods because they are British.
Ian, London, England

British food may be a little bit more expensive sometimes, but it's often much better value for money. People complaining about the cost should also compare it to "fair trade" imports unless they are happy to support the exploitation of 3rd world farmers. But I'm forgetting, this is the Great British Shopper who despises fox-hunting but cheerfully pays for battery farming.
Susan, UK

Other nations take great pride in the fact that the local food is largely made up of produce from that country. One of the advantages of living in such a temperate climate as we do is that we have the opportunity to make ourselves an entirely self-sufficient country. We should take advantage of that.
Justin, Bristol, UK

I buy the best quality food I can afford. Most of it happens to be from abroad.
Nick, London, UK

I hate all this pre-packed uniformly clean sized food Clive, Woking

The UK lacks patriotism through and through. The UK can't survive purely on the service industry and the sooner we all realise this, the better we shall be. I'm not suggesting for that we should ban imported food but some intelligence and common sense buying may make the big supermarkets change their strategy. I hate all this pre-packed uniformly clean sized food. Lets have some real fresh food!
Clive, Woking

I think this importing of food is ridiculous, I could understand completely if there was a deficit of the said foodstuff in this country, while we may import more food than we export, there is a lot of food being "swapped" between this country and many others. Consider the following: In 1998 the UK exported 33,100 tonnes of poultry meat and 195,000 tonnes of pork to the Netherlands, in the same year we imported 61,400 tonnes of poultry meat and 240,000 tonnes of pork. This is completely insane. We should not have to import a product if we are exporting the very same product.
Lorcan, St. Ives, UK

Nat of London; it is not the producers who should be blamed but the supermarkets for driving down the 'farm gate' price to below production costs in many cases. I know this, members of close family have been driven out of livestock because of this. Many of those still farming can only survive because of any subsidies. In other words taxpayers are contributing to the supermarkets bottom line and indirectly probably your pension fund. Think about that.
Lionel A Smith, Fareham Hants

When I buy fruit and veg from any of our local supermarkets it is normally sprouting or going soft within days, this is because it has been picked while unripe, chilled during shipment and then artificially ripened. When I buy local produce it tastes better and last a lot longer. People have forgotten what proper food tastes like and will accept any old rubbish from the supermarket in the name of convenience. Supermarkets demand that fruit and veg be standard shapes and sizes to fit into their plastic containers, taste and nutrition do not enter their minds. We also have a local butcher that we buy 'proper' local meat from, totally different from the pale insipid stuff from the supermarkets. And guess what, it is normally cheaper.
Chris, Telford UK

A country that cannot feed itself will always be "under the thumb" of the countries that do feed it Michael Stabeno, Portland, Oregon, US

As Britain learned during both world wars, a country that cannot feed itself will always be "under the thumb" of the countries that do feed it. And once a farm has been abandoned, paved over, or converted into an American style strip mall, it cannot easily be brought back into production the same way a new shift can be added to a factory.
Michael Stabeno, Portland, Oregon, US

It is not just a question of buying more British food - do we actually produce enough of the stuff in the first place. Lorraine in St Albans has hit the nail on the head with the major supply-side problem.
Mark, Nottingham, Great Britain

No doubt about it - then there may be some taste in them! Bring back home grown apples and pears and Webbs lettuces!
Hope Full, UK

We need to buy seasonal food, Simple as that. Buy strawberries in July and they can be British, and they are very tasty. Buy them in January, they'll be imported and are horrid! Get back to old-fashioned seasonal fruit and veg, and we'll not just promote good, British food but also general health, less waste and impact on the environment less.
Alex K, London, UK

Buying British doesn't really make sense (it still has to be transported), the best way to buy is locally. Supermarkets don't stock local goods, so the best way to achieve this is to switch to local retailers and buy either from markets, direct from farmers or local businesses such as a butches. The other option is to completely rid the UK of expensive subsidised farms and only buy from developing (cheap) countries, but this will turn around and bite us as soon as the developing countries catch up.
Oliver Stieber, Newbury, England

I don't think it is a question of patriotism, I think it is more about understanding that cost is NOT the most important consideration when it comes to food - or rather not for most of us. Taste, quality (and hence seasonality) and impact on the environment (from pesticide use, fuel miles etc.) and supporting the local economy, come way ahead for me. Buying local produce direct from the producers gets me so much more in terms of all these criteria.

Supermarkets sell us what is easier and more profitable for them Marian, England

Maybe Tesco could sell me foreign imports cheaper - but they'd not taste as good and there would be hidden environmental costs that someone somewhere ends up paying. Probably the poor Kenyan farm-worker. Supermarkets sell us what is easier and more profitable for them, and they persuade us it is what we want through massive ad campaigns. They can legitimately say they're meeting customer demand as long as we continue to go along with it. Vote with your feet and maybe things will change and the British farmer will go back to earning a living wage.
Marian, England

The government should encourage British farmers to grow as much of our own food as possible and as many varieties of crops as nature permits. For example, we could easily grow all our potatoes here but loads still get imported from France. The imports of whatever we can produce enough of, including, but not limited to, food, should be banned or heavily taxed.
Stan, Norwich

Putting tax on miles travelled from the point of growth should be done Matt, Telford

Patriotism is a minor point. The reason we should be buying, and able to buy, home grown food is that shipping food half the way round the world is an absolutely absurd thing to do. It's incredibly wasteful and gives us sub-standard food that has to be stored at near frozen making it tasteless. Putting tax on miles travelled from the point of growth should be done. This will increase prices in the short term but make food a much more sustainable market in the long term. We should also be telling people how stupid it is to eat lamb from New Zealand, apples from Spain and fish from Norway when we can sustain the demand with supply from our own country and waste so much less.
Matt, Telford

How can we ever promote British food when we have got people who seem hell bent on buying anything but not British!! Nat from London seems to forget the huge subsidy given to lots of foreign producers. Go to a farmers market and see the difference in quality. Supermarkets wake up.
Len, Salisbury UK

The big supermarkets import as cheaply as they can and sell for no less than local markets because of their storage costs and large mark-ups. I recently started using my local market and was amazed at how fresh and tasty (and cheap) the produce is. Most of it is local British produce; the oranges and lemons are at least European. All taste much better than New Zealand apples and Brazilian oranges shipped in refrigerated containers.
Matthew, London, England

In 85%+ of cases what we can buy in the shops is dictated by what the supermarkets choose to stock. Their objective is to maximise profit and therefore they would rather offer cheap, end of season produce from another country than the more expensive new season British equivalent. However, since the stuff flies off the shelf, the average British consumer is clearly happy to go along with the practice and is very unlikely to voluntarily offer to pay more.
Lorraine, St Albans, UK

As an allotment gardener there is nothing more satisfying than eating freshly grown produce. Recently picked or pulled vegetables simply cannot be beaten whether they are organic or not. This buzz-word 'Organic' in many cases seems just to be a way of extracting more of the consumer's hard-earned cash. So, slow down your lives, enjoy the fresh air, learn to understand what each season has to offer and 'grow your own'.
Nick, West Midlands

I abhor any protectionist measures and I look forward to stronger competition from abroad Nat, London, UK

I make absolutely no effort to buy produce that happens to come from my own country. I have freedom of choice, and I expect all producers to compete for my business in an open, subsidy-less market. I abhor any protectionist measures and I look forward to stronger competition from abroad, because only that threat will improve the abysmal quality of food that British producers expect us to eat.
Nat, London, UK

We certainly should, but the way to do it is at local shops, not supermarkets. The produce at our local supermarket is terrible, but we have two terrific greengrocers that both stock beautiful, fresh, local fruit and vegetables. The big surprise? They're cheaper than the rubbish at the supermarket. No wonder they are well patronised by the locals.
Michael Scott, Rye, East Sussex

The best possible quality of food should be on offer, regardless of where it comes from. I went out of my way to look for British apples the other day, but they were really grotty and horrible next to the bright, shiny, perfectly-formed, unblemished New Zealand ones.
Frank, Cambridge, England

Buying locally produced food at a fair price for the farmers would be better for the environment, better for the industry and better for our economy.
Peter, London, UK

I buy locally produced meat, and local fruit and veg in season, but you have only to look at the rubbish that most people put into their supermarket trollies to realise that the average Brit has no interest whatsoever in good food. The argument about whether to buy a British Cauliflower or Kenyan Peas has no relevance to the average "consumer" (for that is all they are), who never gets closer to fresh produce than a tin of baked beans or a packet of oven chips!
John, England

Grocers have to have the freedom to offer the products that their customers demand. If the government were to force grocers to offer more British food than the public is currently buying, it will only rot on the shelf. The grocers will lose money on it, profits will drop, then employee incomes drop. Farmers will have no incentive to keep prices down with increased efficiency. Only the farmers benefit. Protectionism isn't patriotism, it's lobbied for by those who expect to make more money by it.
Drew, Philadelphia, USA

Do more than just buy British, buy local! (If you can)
Daren, Bristol, UK

Ultimately the ideal would be to only import what our climate can't grow Liz, London, UK

People complain about cost, but in fact some of the worst offenders for air-transported produce are things like mangetout from Kenya, hardly the staple of the British poor. As a child 25 years ago we rarely ate bananas due to the cost. Of course, non-European produce has fallen relatively in price, but that raises the point about exploitation of farmers in poor countries. Ultimately the ideal would be to only import what our climate can't grow - and pay a fair for it; but so long as people take as a 'right' that they can buy anything at any time, the damage to the environment will continue.
Liz, London, UK

I will buy what I like and what is better for me. It is better if I have a choice.
Shan, Lon & Eng

Of course we should! Why burn up so much fuel to bring in so much food we could grow ourselves? 'Cheap imports' are only cheap as measured by our insane monetary system. They are usually anything but when we consider rural economic decline, environmental destruction and quality of life.
Davis, London, UK

As a family we always try to buy British first, especially from local sources, eg.Farm shops and Farmers Markets. We find the taste and quality much better. When we do a supermarket shop we will avoid goods from countries who actively seem to 'harm' British farming/fishing industries and I have not bought anything knowingly 'Fabrique en France' since their Farmers set fire to a lorry load of live British sheep some years ago. We have to buy British in all areas, whenever we can.
DP, Deeside, Flintshire

Surely this is about choice? One day I may feel like a nice English coxes apple, the next a Cape Golden Delicious from South Africa. While English tomatoes are lovely in salad, I prefer Spanish tomatoes for sauces. Another point, I get all my fruit, vegetables and meat from local shops and not the supermarkets. This gives me choice, quality and I am always able to get British and local produce and the imported goods that I may want. If people want local produce they should shop locally and not expect a big national sterile supermarket chain to be representative of anything local. I notice that people are willing to support the poor farmers but don't give the small business owners a second thought. This smacks of double standards.
Ian, Oldham, UK

Perhaps British farmers should not try to compete with the cheap imported foods and should market themselves even more towards the high quality and organic ranges.
Darryl, UK

I grow my own vegetables and buy meat direct from a farm 6 miles away. The price and quality are second to none - in both cases. The only things I get from a supermarket are things I can't buy locally.
Sue, UK

You can't buck the market. People buy foreign because it's cheap. I would prefer to buy British, but it must be good value for money.
Chris Klein, Chandlers Ford UK

I get all my fruit, veg and meant delivered by a company that collects together local farm grown produce and gets it out to the customer within a few days of picking. The food is delicious, the meat is guaranteed hormone and antibiotic free and it's hardly any more expensive than buying from the supermarket. I would recommend this to anyone and what's more I feel I'm helping local farmers at the same time.
Vik, Manchester

British food should be labelled more clearly and the labelling should emphasis the freshness and lower levels of pollution produced by transporting the goods. I buy British when that's an option, but love exotic fruit like mangoes.
Ros, Sheffield, UK

Whenever possible I buy British produced food, especially meat and dairy products - fruit and vegetables in season as well. I believe it is important to support our farmers and would pay a bit more if necessary. It concerns me that the big supermarkets are causing hardships within the farming community with their price cutting policies.
Christine, London

Yes, we do import too much food - we should be looking after our own!
Christine, Wisbech, Cambridgeshire

I think the government has an obligation to our farmers to promote British produce Tracy, Huddersfield

Try as I might I seem to have trouble finding British grown fruit and vegetables. When I go to the supermarket I am faced with row upon row of apples etc from all over the world. I deliberately seek out British grown produce but quite often cannot find it. I think the government has an obligation to our farmers to promote British produce and should help them to market and sell their goods at a competitive price.
Tracy, Huddersfield

I think more people would buy British if it was cheaper! I don't make a fortune in my job and don't have the luxury of spending whatever I want. I have to stretch money to get through the month as do, I'm sure, many other people in the country! Therefore we buy what we can afford and if imported products are cheaper then that's what we buy!!
James, Manchester

In France it's rare to be able to buy anything but French produce! In all the supermarkets it's all local and excellent quality. Go into any supermarket in the UK and you will be hard pressed to find any British produce. Why are we being offered peas from Kenya when a British farmer produces them only a few miles away? It's madness!
Jon, London

It seems obscene that we import foods that can easily be grown here Chandra, England

It seems obscene that we import foods that can easily be grown here, such as green beans and onions. Let's keep imports for exotics like coffee and oranges.
Chandra, England

One of the reasons why people don't go out of their way to buy British food is that we have all become used to year round availability of seasonal food. Perhaps there should be more promotion of seasonal British food through TV food programmes and in-store offers - particularly as British food bought in season is not expensive. Perhaps Jamie Oliver should get involved!
Suzanne B, Herts, UK

Personally I always try to find British produce. Contrary to what people think it does not cost that much more and the quality is far superior to fruit and vegetables that have travelled halfway around the globe to reach supermarket shelves.
Nick, Driffield, England

It would be nice to see the supermarkets pushing for this. They take the cream of all the crops worldwide and almost dictate the food we buy. Perhaps if they where more concerned about "ethical issues" then profits could be distributed more evenly; we could have a healthier country; farmers could stop struggling, and the nation as a whole could be happier.
Brad, Lincoln, UK

Given the choice, most consumers buy on price Eccles, Cardiff, UK

Our demand for year round produce has set up markets where apples imported from New Zealand are cheaper than local, or even EU apples. Given the choice, most consumers buy on price.
Eccles, Cardiff, UK

Of course we should buy British - and when possible - local food. I stopped shopping in the supermarket a year ago and now do all my fruit, veg and fresh meat shopping in my nearest farm shop. The food is fresher and cheaper.
M Tucker, Bristol UK

Importing lots of food from other countries contributes to global warming and hurts our farmers. I purchase local produce from a local market whenever possible. If this was the norm, it'd be good for the environment and good for our economy too.
Stu, Bristol, UK

We should buy more local food like we should have bought more Rover cars David

British food... Hmm, and the photo on this page features oranges, grapes and bananas; not very British unless you live in Kew Gardens. But the photo makes a point too. Had it shown carrots, cauliflower and sprouts it wouldn't have been so attractive. We should buy more local food like we should have bought more Rover cars; but we seem to think that anything from abroad is better.
David

I am all for the idea of buying locally produced food. However, the British get irked by French jibes over our cuisine; we should realise that our national cuisine (if there is such a thing apart from fish and chips or roast) is pretty poor - I mean, who came up with the idea of boiling vegetables?! Totally medieval!
Nick, Southampton, UK

This country hasn't been self-sufficient in food since around the middle of the 19th century - we cannot survive without imports.
Ken Ricketts, Wokingham, UK

I would like to see a clearly visible symbol on British produce Nick Stutley, UK

I would like to see a clearly visible symbol on British produce in the supermarkets. I would buy the British product every time given a choice, but I haven't got all day to read the small print on the back of packets.
Nick Stutley, UK

When it appears cheaper to buy apples from New Zealand and fly them half way around the world, than to buy apples from Somerset and drive them up the M5, I do wonder just what is happening to our farming industry. It makes more sense to buy locally grown (and organically grown) produce, simply because it's fresher and hasn't had to be treated to survive a long journey; but I expect prices of locally grown produce to be sensible. I'm not going to pay through the nose for inferior produce just because it was grown locally.
John B, UK

A simple solution would be to heavily tax food that is imported that is also produced in this country. Why stop at food? It would massively help our economy to tax any product being imported that is also produced here.
Ian Y, London

I think it's best to buy as much local food as possible. It supports the economy, helps the environment and benefits everyone involved.
T, Canada

Get the prices down and more will buy it Tom, Scotland

I would but it is too expensive, which is similar to healthy food. I don't live on footballers wages. Get the prices down and more will buy it.
Tom, Scotland

While I do love eating all the varieties of foreign food available to us, I would love even more to enjoy a proper English cuisine, in the same way the Italians, French, Greeks, Indians, Japanese etc have their cuisines. Roast Beef and Fish n' Chips is not enough! Surely, with the resources, and the great cooks we have, we can re-invent British food?
Rob, London, UK