Farmers across the country are planning a night of direct action against supermarkets in protest at the low prices they receive.
7pm on Friday 13 October will see farmers blockading supermarket distribution centres to demand fair pay and more support for British farming.
The group behind the protest, Proud to Farm, has invited farmers to gather at over 30 supermarket distribution centres and block access in or out. A spokesperson from the group explained that their motivation is to secure a better future for farming in the UK.
“We can’t go on watching supermarkets declare such huge profits while farmers are going out of business and seriously struggling with their mental health.”
Proud to Farm are asking for fair pay for farmers as well as more support for the farming industry as a whole from the government. The group has shared the locations of the planned blockades on its TikTok channel, where the action has primarily been organised, along with the message, ‘No farms, no food.’
A spokesperson for the group said they have received a flood of support from the farming community and members of the public. Adding, “the only people that can change this are the people on the ground, with public support.”
This protest comes as many British farmers are struggling to survive, feeling the impact of rising input, energy and labour costs. While food prices have risen dramatically and supermarkets announce huge profits, there is clear feeling within the industry is that retailers are not passing on a fair price to farmers.
I support them 100% our food insecurity is being ignored
I agree completely,and it shouldn’t be up to just the farmers, the government should be analysing the state of the industry and acting accordingly. And when I say accordingly I mean ensuring a fair deal for all concerned while taking in to account air miles, carbon use and the health of the British nation as a whole. Isn’t that what a minister for agriculture should be doing anyway?
Yesterday they said on the news that inflation had gone down but then said food prices are down while most everything else has gone up!
Don’t they know that farmers’ costs have gone up!! So how do they expect farmers to solve the “cost of living crisis” if they aren’t allowed to make a profit?!
Wasn’t this very obvious when UK left the EU? Except for a bunch of charlatans, anyone with an IQ over 50 realised that either the UK agrifood industry would be killed by cheap imports from the EU but no export possibilites, or by raising the prices on food on a closed protected domestic market, which would lead to skyrocketing food prices and a low demand for the products anyway. Both scenarios would kill British agrifood. UK seem to have gone down the cheap import – no export road.