Sheffield Green Party supports the “Food In Our Hands” campaign, a national initiative calling for a fairer, greener food system that values the people and nature sustaining it. The campaign marched through the streets of London last Saturday, 26th April, and protested outside the Home Office and Defra.
Green councillors say now is the time to stand with farmers, conservation workers, growers, and other land workers across Sheffield and South Yorkshire who are working to feed communities, protect wildlife, and restore land, from the city’s community gardens to the moors of the Peak District. Greens call on the Labour government to fulfil their manifesto promise to “champion British farming whilst protecting the environment”.
Green Councillor, Marieanne Elliot, said:
“It’s clear that the Government needs to invest in nature-friendly farming.
“There are so many reasons why it is crucial for our future. In addition to improving food security and supporting our farmers, there are multiple benefits for our communities. For example, cleaner water due to a reduction in pollutants running off fields into our waterways; improved air quality through planting of trees, bushes and other plants; protection of homes and businesses from flooding with natural flood management practices like restoring peatland, which also delivers carbon benefits.”
Green activist, Andy Davies, said:
“As someone who looks after land for biodiversity, I recognise the importance of ensuring landholders can access funding and public support for sustainably producing food and managing land. I would like to see the UK government reinstate the Sustainable Farming Incentive while it is being revised and recognise the importance of nature-friendly farmers in meeting environmental ambitions.”
“Populist misinformation is creating false divides between farming and nature, between rural and urban, and between environmental protection and economic survival. In reality, these are all connected. If we want food security and climate resilience, we must back the people and policies that make them possible.”
The Food In Our Hands campaign calls on the government to deliver fair, well-funded Environmental Land Management schemes (ELMs), support nature-friendly farming, and protect rural livelihoods.
This also means ensuring farmers and food growers are given greater financial security to allow them to transition to sustainable models of production. For example, Greens support the trial of a universal basic income for farmers and food growers as proposed by Natalie Bennett, Baroness of Manor Castle, in the House of Lords.
We call on our Sheffield MPs to:
-Back full funding and fair access to ELMs for landworkers across the region;
-Reject populist rhetoric that pits nature against food or undermines science;
-Champion policies that restore biodiversity, build climate resilience, and support food justice.
