Nature’s voice: majority of UK adults urge farmers to embrace ‘nature-friendly’ practices

Over half (56%) of adults want UK farmers to prioritise farming practices which, preserve and enhance nature and wildlife, according to new research commissioned by the ground-breaking food and farming certification scheme Fair to Nature.

The survey of 2,250 adults undertaken by Ipsos reveals over half the people surveyed (56%) want UK farmers to concentrate on “preserving and enhancing nature and wildlife” when asked to select three from a list of six possible different farming priorities regarding the environmental impacts of farming.

In addition, half of the respondents (50%) said they would also like farmers to preserve and enhance natural water systems and 39% chose preserving and enhancing soil health at this same question.

Research undertaken in December, halting biodiversity loss was one of the top three environmental impacts of agriculture UK adults want to see addressed on farms, with 37% selected this, along with 39% choosing use of environmentally harmful pesticides and water pollution chosen by 36%.

And the research reveals a widespread lack of knowledge of the terms regenerative, sustainable or nature-friendly farming, with only two in 10 people surveyed saying they either know this type of farming “very well” or know a “fair amount” about it.

The findings build on similar research from March last year which highlighted growing consumer concern about nature loss and a desire to halt its decline, with 67% of UK adults found to be concerned with the decline in the variety of UK wildlife compared to 50 years ago.

Mark Varney, head of Fair to Nature, said the results reveal that one in four people think UK farming has a negative effect on nature and wildlife.

“But our research also highlights that UK consumers want our food and agricultural system to be a power for good, helping protect and preserve our landscape and wildlife,” he added. “This is a golden opportunity for organisations to adopt nature-friendly farming and food production to respond to their customers’ wants and needs.

“Making sense of what this means in practice can be confusing, especially with buzzwords such as “regenerative” and “sustainable” hitting our shelves. It needn’t be this complicated, as our new report launched today, “Without Nature There is no Food”, shows. Setting out a proven approach for including nature as a key component within all food businesses’ UK supply chains, it demonstrates how, in the wake of terrifying declines in nature, we can – and must – do something urgently to bring farmers, producers and consumers the clarity needed to enact real change.”

Compiled by experts from the RSPB’s Fair to Nature scheme, which is the UK’s only certification scheme with a focus on biodiversity, the report looks at the vital role of nature in underpinning the ability to do business.

The report, Without Nature There is no Food, also outlines the solution; if every farm made 10% of land available for good quality wildlife habitat, nature on farms could be restored and protected, ensuring that the essential services it provides are there for us all in the future.

Mark Varney added: “Fair to Nature is a proven approach to restoring the balance of nature in farming, providing food businesses with the means to act on wildlife declines, empowering and supporting farmers with a viable way of protecting and restoring nature on their farms, and harnessing consumers’ buying power to deliver the transformative change needed in our food and farming system.”

RSPB Fair to Nature has already achieved incredible results: one farm has seen a 226% increase in breeding birds, a 213% increase in farmland butterflies, almost double the floral diversity and up to 19 times more bees than typical farms.

As outlined in the report, food brands and supermarkets who support RSPB Fair to Nature agree to buy from certified farms like these and can display the RSPB Fair to Nature logo on the packaging of certified products, ensuring consumers are able to make positive choices to spend their money in support of restoring critical farm ecosystems and wildlife habitats.

The launch of the report is supported with a free to attend 1 hour webinar: “Without nature, there is no food: why we need a label to protect and restore.” Taking place on Tuesday 16 January at 12.30pm, more details are available from the RSPB Fair to Nature website.