Chris White

From October, all Waitrose & Partners pork mince, steaks, chops and joints will be free-range, with a commitment to make all of their own-brand British pork free-range by 2027. Alongside this, the welfare rating label, shown in the image, will be included on all Waitrose pork products to help their customers make informed decisions, and Waitrose continue to call for stronger meat labelling legislation in the UK. Read more: https://bit.ly/4mD7wOL Compassion in World Farming - Food Business Philip Lymbery

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🥛 For the first time, a coalition of UK farmers, processors, retailers and foodservice operators has formed a new steering group aimed at enhancing #sustainability and resilience across the #dairy sector. The newly established steering group includes key stakeholders such as the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB), Dairy UK, the National Farmers' Union (NFU), as well as major players like Arla Foods UK, Müller UK & Ireland, Lactalis UK & Ireland, Sainsbury's and Tesco.

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Government SFI decision risks organic sector and sustainable British food Late yesterday (6.30pm Tuesday 11th March) Defra issued a press release announcing that with immediate effect they ‘will stop accepting new applications for the Sustainable Farming Incentive’ (SFI) as the sustainable farming budget had been ‘successfully allocated’. The government’s shock decision to halt the SFI has shaken the entire farming sector but it is a particular concern for organic and smaller producers who look set to lose the most. For decades support has been available for farmers going through the two-year conversion period to organic because of the many benefits that organic production offers to the environment – including during conversion when they must farm to full organic standards but cannot market their products as organic. But the decisions to cease Countryside Stewardship three months ago and now to close applications this year for SFI leaves farmers with no assurances or support for those wanting to convert to organic. This follows new data just released by Soil Association Certification, which saw the number of its in-conversion licensees double in 2024, alongside the 13th consecutive year of growth in the UK organic market, up 7.3% on last year. Soil Association Chief Executive Helen Browning said: “This destructive damaging move by government seriously risks the viability of the organic sector and threatens the supply of sustainable British food. It has frozen farmers out of the opportunity to meet the rising demand for organic food, which will instead continue to be met by imports. The government is disregarding what shoppers and farmers want, alongside the need to protect nature. "This is a new low for sustainable food production in England, which will fall even further behind Scotland and other countries where there are targets to increase organic production. “We are also very worried that smaller producers and family farms, particularly fruit and veg growers, have not had enough opportunity to access the scheme and that they will be most impacted by this sudden change.” Somerset organic beef farmer and Soil Association Ambassador John Ker said: "SFI was a long way from perfect but I felt it was quietly heading in a better direction certainly than BPS. "I felt the whole concept was to help and encourage the wider agriculture sector to engage with and think about their farming practices. Pulling on the handbrake and complete uncertainty where this will go next is going to cause lasting damage. "There is little trust from farmers I speak to of politicians and actions like this will only strengthen that position for many."

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