Riverford's #GetFairAboutFarming petition gets 80,000 signatures in support of farmers

More than 75,000 shoppers have backed a petition demanding fairer treatment for farmers at the hands of the Big Six supermarkets.

The appeal, #GetFairAboutFarming, was launched following the writing of an open letter from organic fruit and veg box company Riverford's chief executive Guy Singh-Watson to Tesco, Sainsbury's, Asda, Morrisons, Aldi and Lidl warning them that the British farming industry was ‘on its knees'.

Support has come from many farmers too, including now famous farmer, Will Young.

Will said: "Farming is everything I have ever known and it is always difficult to hear of the struggles farmer's face. A small change from supermarkets and their suppliers will make a huge difference to so many farmers across Britain. Over 75,000 people have backed Riverford's campaign calling for better treatment of farmers which is great. Hopefully such support from the British public will be enough to see the government make some needed change."

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According to organisers, not one of the supermarket chiefs has acknowledged the #GetFairAboutFarming campaign but by signing the petition, they say consumers have sent a strong message to government that supermarkets must be held to account.

At 100,000 signatures, the petition will be considered for debate in Parliament. 

Launching the campaign Mr Singh-Watson said: "During my 50 years of farming, the proportion of the price of food which actually goes to farmers has fallen relentlessly. Instead, ever more goes to supermarkets and food processors.

"This imbalance of power, combined with climate change and fickle government policy, has brought the farming industry I love to its knees... Supermarket behaviour is a leading cause."

See also: Defra launches supply chaine review amid mounting egg sector anger

This week the issue is going before the Efra Committee which will examine how the UK's food supply chain operates, the market power of supermarkets and manufacturers in the food supply chain and the relationship between food production costs and food and retail prices.

The committee will hear from Dr Carrie Bradshaw, lecturer in law at the University of Leeds and member of the Global Food and Environment Institute and Vicki Hird, strategic lead on agriculture at The Wildlife Trust and former Head of Sustainable Farming, Sustain.

MPs will also examine whether the structure of the food supply chain creates an expectation of cheap food and whether they are served by the current structure of the UK's food supply chain and how well the interests of consumers and suppliers are currently balanced. MPs will examine what steps could be taken to promote fairness and redress any existing imbalances.