'Stop lying to us': Scottish Highland anger over 'farmwashing' as staff axed

Farmers claim overseas produce on the shelves is masked with Union Jack flags as genuine small-scale British farms are in decline.

A Highland farmer has joined a growing movement of food producers campaigning against supermarkets they believe are misleading shoppers into buying British products when in fact they might not be.

Jo Hunt, who farms in Dingwall, has urged large retailers to “tell the truth” and to stop “farmwashing”. The phrase refers to the use of fake farm brands and the perceived incorrect use of the Union Jack to give customers the impression they are buying from rustic independent producers.

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Jo Hunt, who farms in Dingwall, in the Highlands, has joined the campaign Farmers Against FarmwashingJo Hunt, who farms in Dingwall, in the Highlands, has joined the campaign Farmers Against Farmwashing
Jo Hunt, who farms in Dingwall, in the Highlands, has joined the campaign Farmers Against Farmwashing | Supplied

Farmers have said a lot of the food on shelves is in fact increasingly sourced from industrial US-style mega farms or from overseas, masking the decline of Britain’s family farms.

Mr Hunt’s calls come as more than 90 signatories have issued an open letter to the "big six" supermarkets, calling for an end to farmwashing.

Some of those behind the Farmers Against Farmwashing campaign. From left to right: Kriss Woodhead, Zoe Colville, Guy Singh Watson (who launched the campaign), Jimmy Doherty and Ben Andrews.Some of those behind the Farmers Against Farmwashing campaign. From left to right: Kriss Woodhead, Zoe Colville, Guy Singh Watson (who launched the campaign), Jimmy Doherty and Ben Andrews.
Some of those behind the Farmers Against Farmwashing campaign. From left to right: Kriss Woodhead, Zoe Colville, Guy Singh Watson (who launched the campaign), Jimmy Doherty and Ben Andrews. | Supplied

The British Retail Consortium (BRC), which represents the retail giants, said the brands were created for some own-label goods "to help consumers find the quality goods they are looking for".

A recent investigation by the consumer group Which? found some shoppers could easily be misled by supermarkets’ use of Union Jack labels. The watchdog reported, for example, that Union Jacks and “Made in Britain” stamps were printed on the packaging of some supermarket pork and beef products when the produce was in fact EU meat. Which? also said tomatoes from Morocco and parsley from Italy lay on shelves with a large banner decorated with a Union Jack.

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Existing labelling rules require retailers to identify a country or place of origin on meat, fish, fresh fruit, vegetables, honey and wine. Regulations also require that information should not mislead shoppers.

Mr Hunt, 59, said: “Supermarkets put fake farm names on products, making it seem like they’re small and local, but they're really not. It’s a branding strategy that undermines the efforts of small, genuine farms and [could] mislead shoppers.

“I just think you need to tell the truth. Lying about where food comes from should be called out.”

He gave the example of Rosedene Farm, a brand that a supermarket used for fruit, despite the farm not existing, according to reports.

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“It should be illegal to label [produce] as being from Rosedene Farm and the [produce] is from Chile, when that farm doesn’t exist - it’s just a trade name,” Mr Hunt said.

“Stop lying to us. You can’t create a better food system by deceiving people about where their food is coming from.”

The farmer also said the reality of competing with cheaper international produce is an injustice in the UK food system.

Mr Hunt and his partner, Lorna Walker, 51, run Knockfarrel Produce and supplied organic kale to a supermarket after securing a contract in 2014.

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The couple claimed that after three years of the kale selling out every week, relations soured when the amount paid to the farm for produce was reduced by 30 per cent, despite the price to the consumer remaining the same.

Unable to match the lower price of kale being produced by a Polish supplier, Mr Hunt said the farm was forced to lay off staff.

He said: “We felt we were growing what they wanted. Our product was in demand. We ended up with 600 or 700 positive reviews for bags of kale ... I felt like this wasn’t a fair game.

“You can’t survive against that. It made me angry, but it also made us realise we need to serve our local market directly with our own product.”

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With consumers becoming increasingly aware and conscious of where their food is sourced, retailers are under pressure to cater for this demand for locally sourced produce - but Mr Hunt has claimed the ‘Big Six’ are still falling short. He said: “Supermarkets don’t want to lose sales, so they give the impression they’re meeting consumer demand. But that’s all it is - an impression."

He added: “It’s a really monopolised market in which they are squeezing us on price and competition. The UK market is unusual in the sense the food system has basically been handed over to six companies who squabble among themselves for market share.”

Guy Singh-Watson, founder of organic veg box company Riverford, is spearheading a UK-wide campaign called “Farmers Against Farmwashing” aimed at exposing any misleading players in the retail industry.

It includes a letter to the ‘Big Six’ supermarket chief executives signed by more than 90 signatories, including MPs Cat Smith, David Chadwick and Ben Lake, as well as Jimmy Doherty, Rick Stein, William Chase and Ben Goldsmith, and industry bodies such as Sustain and the Soil Association.

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The campaign highlighted a survey it had conducted of more than 200 farmers that found nearly two thirds were concerned they would have to give up their farms within the next 18 months. Only one in four said that they thought claims from supermarkets of supporting British farmers were credible and backed up by their buying practices.

The poll found two thirds felt under pressure from supermarkets’ buying practices, and a similar proportion feared they would be delisted if they complained.

Mr Singh-Watson said: “British farming is at a breaking point. The public cares deeply about where their food comes from. The supermarkets know this and they are using that trust to steal farmer stories and to hoodwink shoppers into thinking they are buying from those small-scale, traditional British farms. Yet the reality is that these farms are being pushed to the brink. Is this the future we want for our food system and our countryside?”

Andrew Opie, director of food and sustainability at the BRC, said: "Supermarkets are always keen to promote British farming and follow the strict legislation on the labelling of food, including the use of flags.

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"In fact, they pushed the government to tighten these rules earlier this year. Retailers create new farm brands for some of their own-label goods in order to help consumers find the quality goods they are looking for."

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