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Farmers to Share Good Will and Good Food for Christmas
19/11/07

Farmers from around Scotland will be getting into the Christmas spirit over the coming weeks as they promote their quality Scottish food and drink around the country, arranging events and give-aways to help spread the positive messages about Scottish food and farming.

Jim McLaren,
NFU Scotland President

Jim McLaren,  NFU Scotland President

The NFU Scotland What’s on Your Plate? campaign, which has been running since June, is now focusing on Christmas and the quality Scottish produce that can grace our dinner plates over the festive season. Following a ‘12 Days of Christmas’ theme, the campaign will promote 12 of the great Scottish products which we traditionally eat or drink at Christmas time, from turkey to brussels sprouts, at 12 different events around the country. The campaign won’t be forgetting Santa Claus and Rudolph and will be promoting some of their favourite foods along the way too!

The events will provide an opportunity for people to sample some superb quality Scottish produce, chances to win hampers of produce in time for Christmas and, at some of the events, local farmers will be donating food and drink to charitable organisations.

The first event will be taking place at Tesco Riverside in Dundee on Friday 23 and Saturday 24 November from 8am until 6pm. Farmers from the area will be promoting the What’s on Your Plate? campaign and will be giving away free samples of oats, kindly donated by Quaker Oats in Cupar, to shoppers so that they can get a taste of how great porridge at Christmas could taste!

Jim McLaren, NFU Scotland President, said:

“Christmas is a time to eat, drink and be merry. The traditional Christmas Dinner has evolved into the meal it is today because all of the ingredients can be produced within our shores and many are in season during December.

“I believe that too often we forget that link and I am hoping that this campaign can help to reconnect people with the food they eat and get them thinking about the numerous benefits associated with buying locally produced food and drink.

“Scottish farmers have been planning Christmas all year, producing a great variety of the food that makes up a Christmas meal.

“Moreover, Scottish farming produce is deemed among the best anywhere and it is produced to some of the highest animal welfare and environmental standards in the world.

“As environmentalists have calculated that the average Christmas dinner has travelled a total distance of nearly 85,000 miles to your plate, why bother unnecessarily buying food from elsewhere, when the best in the world is available on your doorstep?

“I would encourage everyone to go along to their local event if they can and find out more about Scottish food and drink. If you can’t go along, just look out for the Saltire flag when you do your Christmas shopping and be safe in the knowledge that you are helping to safeguard Scotland’s rural communities as well as the environment, all the while eating superb quality food.”

Speaking about the Dundee event, Kate Scott, Regional Manager for NFUS East Central region, said;

“I am really excited about this event. It is such a great opportunity to promote a quality locally grown product, at the same time giving shoppers the chance to rediscover porridge oats which provide an ideal winter breakfast. Santa is known to be a fan of porridge and I’m sure that Rudolph is partial to some oats too!

“I should like to thank Quaker for their very kind donation and I should like to encourage everyone to back Scotland’s farmers when buying their Christmas food shopping this year. Please come along and visit us in Dundee and of course remember to buy Scottish!”

link What's On Your Plate? - The Campaign for Scottish Food and Farming
link Local Food Set to Go Mainstream
link Calls for Ban on Brazilian Beef Now Even More Justified

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National Farmers' Union

What’s On Your Plate?