Local food campaign at farm show

Caterers at the South of England Show have to use local produce

Agriculture leaders in the South East have called on the public to force supermarkets and other food stores to stock more locally-sourced produce.

A campaign has begun at the South of England Show to "encourage growth of the regional food industry".

David Allam, from the South of England Agricultural Society, said local farmers need the support of consumers.

"Local and regional food is good for the environment and good for you," Mr Allam said.

"When you go into a supermarket, a restaurant or a pub, you should just ask where the food comes from.

"Is it being flown in from a foreign country, or is it good quality local and regional food?"

Farmers' leaders in Kent and West Sussex have backed the message.

Public awareness

Kevin Attwood, deputy chair of the Kent branch of the National Farmers' Union, said supermarkets could help by identifying lines of stock which contained locally-sourced produce.

"If you go to one of the Faversham supermarkets you could easily expect to see strawberries at this time of year sourced from a local farm," he said.

"That's a link which we need the supermarkets to build up, because if you don't inform the consumers then they haven't got the information to take decisions and support their local producers."

Trevor Passmore, chair of the union's West Sussex branch, added: "I think people are becoming more aware that food produced locally is good for the environment.

"Farmers are having a big push to get people to source locally for English products, and I think the general public are behind us in that."

The South of England Show is staged at Ardingly, in West Sussex, and finishes on Saturday.

The local food appeal came on the same day as research was released claiming many people are unaware that the essential ingredients for produce such as bacon, porridge, bread and beer come from farms.