NFU Scotland has praised Waitrose for urging its shoppers to buy British pork, echoing the sentiment that buying British is the best way to ensure that animals are reared to high welfare standards.

www.whatsonyourplate.co.uk

Waitrose has today (Wednesday) urged shoppers to buy British after new research has revealed that nearly three quarters of Scottish consumers are unaware of the poorer welfare conditions that the majority of imported pigs are reared in.
In addition, 82 per cent of consumers are unaware that well over half the pork consumed in the UK is imported from other European Countries. NFU Scotland has regularly highlighted the fact that the welfare standards that three quarters of these pigs are reared in would be illegal in the UK.

NFU Scotland, through it’s What’s On Your Plate? campaign for food and farming, has long been urging shoppers to buy Scottish – or British – food and drink in order to support local farmers, the high animal welfare standards that they adhere to and all of the other work they do to benefit the countryside and communities.

Anna Davies, NFU Scotland’s Public Relations Manager, said:

“We are fully in support of Waitrose and their buy British messages. Since 2007, our What’s On Your Plate? campaign has been promoting Scottish food and farming and it is really encouraging to see that the messages are reaching not only consumers but also retailers.

“The standards to which Scottish – and British – farmers produce to are superb and must not be undermined by cheap, poor quality imports which don’t meet the same strict standards. That is why we encourage shoppers to read labels and make sure that they are buying Scottish or British products, whether it’s milk, chicken, beef, lamb or bacon that they are putting into their trolleys.

“The labelling issue is therefore critical. All too often I see labels in supermarkets that don’t make it clear where food and drink has originated. Consumers want to know where the food that they are eating has come from and so it’s time that all retailers met this demand by providing clear and unequivocal labelling.

“Please ‘Back Scotland and Buy Scottish’!”

For more details on the NFU Scotland What’s On Your Plate? campaign, visit www.whatsonyourplate.co.uk. The site features recipes, information about Scottish farming and a directory of shops and restaurants that use or sell Scottish produce.

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