The distress behind farmer protests is real and justified.
Farmers are squeezed by rising costs, unstable policy, unfair trading power, and trade deals that expose them to competition they simply cannot match. This leaves many feeling ignored by government and trapped in a system that rewards scale and imports, while undermining domestic production.
However, disrupting supermarkets and depots is not the solution. It risks damaging public trust in farmers at precisely the moment when public support is essential.
Supermarkets operate within frameworks set by government policy, competition law and post-Brexit trade decisions that have stripped farmers of protection and stability.
The problems facing farming are structural: no government food plan (the Agriculture Act hardly mentions food), the loss of fair pricing mechanisms, weak enforcement of the Groceries Code, exposure to volatile global markets, and trade agreements that prioritise volume over standards.
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These issues require policy reform, not supply chain disruption. At Save British Farming, we believe in positive campaigning that brings the public with us.
Our focus is not on farmers as a special interest, but on helping people understand where their food comes from and why British farming matters to everyone.
British farmers are the most reliable route to high-quality food, fair prices and long-term food sovereignty, and that is the message we work to communicate.
Read more: Are latest policy changes enough to placate farmers?
We do not believe that message is advanced by protesting outside supermarkets, which are constrained by the policies set by government.
The ‘final straw’ issue for all of us – for food supply and food security – is that this government has used Brexit freedoms to weaken the foundations of British farming, particularly through changes to Inheritance Tax relief, which was protected under EU membership.
Undermining those protections threatens the continuity of family farms, accelerates land loss and consolidation, and ultimately puts domestic food production and national food security at real risk.
Liz Webster is the founder of Save British Farming
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