09 January 2025

WWF Comment

For immediate release

WWF reaction to Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs speech at Oxford Farming Conference

Reacting to Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs speech at Oxford Farming Conference, Sofia Parente, head of policy (production) WWF said:

“As the Secretary of State recognised in his speech, restoring nature is vital to food production not in competition with it.

British farmers are currently operating in a broken food system, without adequate support from government and across the supply chain to help them move to sustainable practices. This new deal for farmers must enable a meaningful transition to nature-friendly farming that is both well-funded and fair.

The Secretary of State spoke of the need to protect our high environmental standards in future trade deals, this should include putting core environmental standards in domestic law so that UK farmers are not undercut by substandard imported products with higher environmental impacts."