Plans for a national food strategy were the main topic for the meeting, which was hosted jointly with the Food and Drink Federation (FDF).
Baroness Parminter, Lib Dem environment spokesman in the House of Lords, said she welcomed the Government’s food strategy, although she pointed out the Tories were “coming late” to something for which her party had long been calling during its time in coalition.
She also cautioned against the strategy being entirely industry-led, saying that consumers and environmental groups should also be involved.
“It is vital that we have a strategy, but it is also vital that farming is sustainable and the food we produce is healthy,” she said. “I am also concerned that I have still had no guarantees from the government about what the future of Defra might be after the latest spending review.”
FDF director general Ian Wright underlined the importance of food and drink manufacture to the economy, pointing out that the industry employed more than 400,000 people, most of them outside London.
Europe and the prospect of an in/out referendum on Britain’s EU membership was also on the agenda with Baroness Parminter saying quitting the EU would be “a huge mistake”.
“It’s our biggest market by a very long margin, why would we want to jeopardise that? And the message from Barack Obama is very clear – America wants to have a relationship with Britain, but wants us to be within the European Union.”
Guy Smith said that, as an apolitical organisation, the NFU would not be telling members which way to vote but there were still many unknowns about the level of support farmers would get if European subsidies were to finish.
“We are not frightened of farming outside the CAP, we are afraid of other farmers having more support and less regulation. We are proud of our high standards, but this can lead to higher costs,” he said.