The NFU today announced the launch of a PR campaign to revitalise farming’s image. NFU president Peter Kendall launched the ‘Farming Delivers for Britain’ campaign with a farm-themed boat cruise and a presentation in Westminster.

image expired

The union claims that farming, thanks to its place at the foundation of Britain’s thriving food and drink industry, which is currently benefitting from a government drive to boost exports outside of the European Union, is perfectly placed to stimulate economic recovery in the country.

In support of this assertion, the union has revealed that the agricultural sector contributed £85 billion to the UK economy last year alone; the sector employs around 3.5 million people. The NFU today released a report to coincide with its PR campaign, which shows the industry grew by £1.75 billion in 2011, resulting in a 25 per cent average increase in overall profits from farming last year.  Furthermore, the food and drink sector the UK’s farmers support grew to become the country’s fourth largest exporting industry last year.

NFU president Peter kendall today said he hopes the PR campaign would inspire a sense of pride both within the industry and amongst consumers, who he believes will opt to buy British produce as a result. He said “Farming is now expected to deliver and not just on fresh, quality, affordable food but also in providing cleaner, green energy and exciting and dynamic careers for our young people.”

However, the union’s view of farming is not without its critics. There are those who criticise the focus on competition and pursuit of profit above environmental and social goals. Opinion polls have shown that the vast majority of the British public believes that farmers have a duty to protect the land they farm, a pattern being replicated across Europe; however, the union has consistently presented a business-centric outlook.

Although debate is currently raging in food policy circles over whether cutting edge ‘techno-fixes’ or low-input, socially and environmentally minded agroecological methods represent the best course of action for the farmers of the future, Mr Kendall today expounded on his union’s view.

Animosity between the two camps is at fever pitch following an intense debate over the issue of genetic modification on Thursday’s Newsnight and the disruption of an open-air trial of GM wheat in Hertfordshire on Sunday. Speaking today, Mr Kendall said, “The truth is that much of British agriculture is using cutting-edge technology and the application of science will determine our future. In passing I have to condemn the scandalous attempts over the weekend to destroy the trials of GM wheat at Rothamsted. This is criminal, and must be dealt with as such.”

The union president added to the conflagration by resorting to a reductio ad Hitlerum in condemnation of Sunday’s break-in at Rothamsted research Institute; he referred to this as “The wilful imposition of ignorance, directly comparable to Nazi book-burning in the 1930’s.”

Although the majority of the European public rejects GM and has become increasingly aware of environmental concerns, the union, alongside the British government, has pledged unequivocal support for GM technologies. Last week, a report by the government’s Environmental Audit Committee challenged this blinkered view. Upon the report’s release, Joan Walley, the EAC’s chair, stated, “Until there is clear public acceptance of GM and it is proven to be beneficial, the Government should not license its commercial use in the UK nor promote its use overseas.”

Tweet