On Monday, the Department for Energy and Climate Change opened the bidding process that will allow hydraulic fracturing (fracking) firms to prospect for underground shale gas in different areas of Britain.

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Companies granted licenses will be able to begin drilling for gas, but won't be allowed to extract it without planning permission and permits. Communities Secretary Eric Pickles will "give particular consideration" to these appeals for the next 12 months, the government has said.

Large parts of Northern England, the South Coast and a swathe of central Scotland have been placed up for bids, under the new round of licensing. Fracking is a more energy intensive means of fossil fuel extraction, which involves shooting high pressure water, sand and a chemical solution into shale rock formations to break them apart, releasing trapped gas and oil held within.

Green groups and anti-fracking campaigners had hoped for an outright ban on fracking in more sensitive areas, such as national parks. They warn that the process has led to water contamination elsewhere in the world, and that fracking fluid used to break up rock is thought to contain chemicals that could be seriously harmful to public health (details of the full contents of the chemical mix used in fracking do not have to be disclosed by the company, as it is a protected trade secret).

Although industry claims that shale gas has lower carbon dioxide emissions than coal, research conducted in the United States, where fracking has been carried out since the late 1940s, and where serious environmental and health concerns first emerged in the 1980s, suggests that overall greenhouse gas emissions from the process could be higher.

Business and Energy Minister Matthew Hancock said in a statement on Monday, "Unlocking shale gas in Britain has the potential to provide us with greater energy security, jobs and growth. We must act carefully, minimising risks, to explore how much of our large resource can be recovered to give the UK a new home-grown source of energy.

"As one of the cleanest fossil fuels, shale gas can be a key part of the UK's answer to climate change and a bridge to a much greener future."

Commenting on the contentious announcement that fracking in areas of natural beauty and national parks will be allowed in "exceptional circumstances" or when extraction is "in the public interest", Hancock said, "The new guidance published today will protect Britain's great national parks and outstanding landscapes. Building on the existing rules that ensure operational best practices are implemented and robustly enforced."

However, Greenpeace warned that this fourteenth licensing round, which opened on Monday, puts over half the UK and two-thirds of England up for sale to energy companies. The environment organisation also pointed out that ten of the UK's 13 national parks lie within the area covered by the licensing round, and claimed that although "Ministers are making warm noises about protecting National Parks [they are] still included in the licensing round and there are giant loopholes that could allow fracking all over the protected areas."

Speaking to Farming Online, South Downs farmer Beki Adam expressed concerns many food producers have about the licensing round. Adam said, "Anyone worried about energy security should be as worried about food and water security: We now don't produce enough food in the UK to feed ourselves, and we take water for granted… It is ridiculous to threaten the quality of our soil and water in the name of an unnecessary energy."

"Farmers cannot be expected to trawl through reports on fracking, which show damage already done to soil, water supply and air quality in the USA, let alone land values."

"The fourteenth licensing round in the UK goes hand in hand with the insidious Infrastructure bill, creeping through parliament [which would remove] land owner rights to stop fracking under our farmland. This [Bill] is deemed necessary because there has been overwhelming public objection to the idea of unconventional fossil fuel extraction – many people recognize [shale gas] is not necessary."

"We have a lot of [oil] reserves left it the North Sea, and whilst farmers, as well as everyone else, depend on oil and gas to go about our lives, we know it cannot last forever. This is not about energy security – if this were the case, the government would not sell the PEDL licenses to non-UK owned companies, and this is not about a 'bridge fuel' – fugitive methane emissions make unconventional energy look as bad as (or worse than) coal in many recent reports.

"It's interesting that French farmers immediately understood that risks to aquifers and soil quality were not acceptable, because the damage, if it happens, is impossible to repair."

Adam, who grazes sheep on 54 acres of the South Downs and runs an eco-campsite, warned that government energy policy could also pose a threat to rural livelihoods, adding that "Rural tourism and farm diversification, organic certification and the booming economy in local and niche market foods, [which are being promoted by the government], are all under threat. The perception of food produced from an oil and gas extraction area would likely put people off buying local products."

"We currently provide 400 sheep with water from an 84m borehole. If the water table drops significantly, which is a real threat [as] fracking is a massively water intensive industry, it could cost us £10,000 to reach an increased depth. Farmers would run out of money before an oil or gas company, especially because that industry has little aversion to risk."