Defra secretary David Miliband is launching the Year of Food & Farming to give every English schoolchild the chance to find out how food is produced and how this links with healthy eating.
The year will run from September 2007 and is being whole-heartedly supported by growers and farmers, especially as the campaign will also look at how local food producers can supply schools and other public services.
“There is no better investment any nation can make than teaching its children about their food,” said National Farmers’ Union president Peter Kendall. “It is the basis for a healthier countryside, a healthier society and healthier people.
“It is in everyone’s interest that people are reconnected with farming and food production. As farmers, the more connected we are to our consumers, the better placed we will be to produce the food and other outputs that people want and need.
“Equally, the more people, and especially younger people, understand about food and farming, the better placed they will be to make healthy choices about their diets and lifestyles.
“The future of agriculture and horticulture in Britain will be built on really good, distinctive, high quality food - produced as close as possible to the end consumer - and produced in ways that enhance the countryside and the wider environment. So the more interest people take in how their food is produced and where it comes from, the happier we will be.
“We are therefore 100 per cent behind this initiative and will be giving it every possible support, at national, regional and local level.”
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