British Food Fortnight is upon us! Here are the 9 top reasons why it is best to Buy British:

• British meat is produced to some of the highest welfare standards in the world: no growth-promoting hormones are allowed and any antibiotics are administered only under veterinary direction.
• Britain's pig farmers operate by UK law to standards of welfare that are higher than those of nearly every other EU member state; so think twice before buying that packet of pork, bacon or ham with the words ‘product of the EU’. There is a 70% chance that it comes from a farming system that would be illegal in Britain.
• Britain's beef and sheep industries are the envy of the world; breeding livestock and genetics from our native breeds are much sought after by farmers in other countries. Protect our great native livestock industry by buying the real thing, not an imported substitute.
• Britain's cattle passport system means that each animal can be uniquely traced to its dam (mother) and place of birth.
• Chicken carrying the British Red Tractor logo has been produced to a high set of standards covering every stage of the food chain from rearing to processing and can be traced back to the farm it came from.
• British chicken is the safest chicken meat in Europe: 2% of British chickens have salmonella whereas 30% of European chickens have the disease.
• Eating British fruits and vegetables in season is good for you. Foods in season contain the nutrients, minerals and trace elements that our bodies need at particular times of the year.
• British food travels less far from farm to shop so regardless of how carbon footprints are calculated it self-evidently has a lower carbon footprint.
• Choosing British means supporting British farmers whose work helps to keep the British countryside the way we want it to look: no sheep or cows - no countryside!

Seasonal foods at their best to look out for in the supermarkets this month: 
Vegetables: artichoke, aubergine, beetroot, broad beans, broccoli, butternut squash, carrots, celery, chillies,  courgettes, cucumber, fennel, french beans, garlic, kale, kohlrabi, leeks, lettuces and salad leaves, mangetout, marrow, onions, peas, peppers, potatoes (maincrop), radishes, rocket, runner beans, sweetcorn and watercress.
Fruit: apples, bilberries,blackberries, blueberries, cranberries, damsons, figs, loganberries, peaches, pears, plums, raspberries and tomatoes.
Herbs: basil, chestnuts, chives, oregano, mint, parsley (curly), parsley (flat-leaf),  mushroom (wild), rosemary, sage, sorrel, thyme and walnuts.
Meat: beef, chicken, duck, grouse, guinea fowl, lamb, pork, rabbit, venison, wild duck and wood pigeon.
Fish: clams, cod, crab, dover sole, grey mullet, haddock, halibut, herring, john dory, lemon sole, lobster, mackerel, monkfish, pilchard, plaice, pollack, prawns, salmon, sardines, scallops, sea bass, sea bream, shrimp, squid, turbot, whelks and winkles.

See at the touch of a button all the British produce currently available in the supermarkets - [search Want to Buy British by product or by supermarket].