‘British meals is not simply what we eat, it tells the story of our nation’ | Politics | News | EUROtoday

Supporting our farmers is important for strengthening the UK’s meals safety in a extra insecure world dealing with battle and worldwide commerce tensions.

By shopping for extra regionally grown produce, we’re much less uncovered when imported meals is all of the sudden not obtainable or shoots up in value.

This Easter is a time to sit down down with the household and revel in the perfect of what our farmers and meals producers make – whether or not it’s Welsh lamb or Scottish beef served with all the perfect British trimmings.

Food is a necessary a part of our every day lives and central to our nationwide tradition. We ought to be happy with the top quality produce that makes up Britain’s spectacular pure larder.

This Government shares that sense of pleasure. We’re backing British meals with funding and motion, working to spice up farm companies’ profitability and growing meals manufacturing.

Britain’s meals sector contains world class eating places, artistic cooks, hard-working farmers, progressive producers, and a exceptional mixture of cultural and conventional dishes which can be celebrated globally.

That’s why, as a part of the Government’s Plan for Change, we’re creating a meals technique to strengthen our meals system even additional, defending our British meals traditions, serving to to develop the financial system, and ensuring everybody can select to purchase reasonably priced, scrumptious and nutritious meals.

Our public sector spends a staggering £5 billion yearly on meals and catering contracts and, as Environment Secretary, I need to assist British farmers and producers win a fairer share of those contracts.

Our ambition is for at the least 50% of meals equipped in these contracts to return from British producers or these licensed to greater environmental requirements.

We have already introduced in new necessities for presidency catering contracts to favour high-quality, high-welfare merchandise – which British producers are greatest positioned to produce.

We will monitor the place the meals at present purchased by the general public sector comes from. This will assist us meet our goal for purchasing British.

We can create a future the place British agriculture prospers, the place the environment thrives, and the place each citizen has entry to wholesome, regionally sourced meals.

I hope Express readers will be a part of me in elevating a glass of British beer or wine this Easter as we tuck into the perfect roast dinners on this planet, a Great British custom primarily based on Great British meals.

Steve Reed is Environment Secretary and Labour MP for Streatham and Croydon North