Dive Brief:
- Britain's Prince Charles published an editorial in Country Life on Wednesday condemning big supermarket chains for putting farmers in the poor house.
- Supermarket chains, he wrote, assume none of the risk, and some of Britain's farmers are left earning just £12,600 ($20,133), or even as low as £8,000 ($12,783), annually.
- Due to the squeeze put on farmers by the current system, the prince wrote that small and medium-sized farms are unable to afford long-term reinvestment, something he fears could particularly impact the dairy sector.
Dive Insight:
Prince Charles is an organic farmer who has long supported protecting his nation's countryside, "the unacknowledged backbone" of its national identity. Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury's and Morrisons dominate the nation's food retail, and the British Retail Consortium says that these companies are confident that their food chain investments guaranteed a strong future for Britain's farmers.
