Did you know that British farmers produce enough beef and lamb for over 500 million Sunday roasts every year ? And over 68 million pints of fresh milk every day ? According to the findings of a new survey the majority of Brits do not. Such is their ignorance that for the first time UK's leading agricultural organisations have joined forces for a mass promotional campaign in a bid to 'reconnect' Britons to their rural roots.
The survey of 1,000 adults carried out in March by research company Taylor Nelson Sofres revealed that nearly 90 per cent of Brits do not know that beer is made from barley, a fifth are unaware that yoghurt is made from milk and, somewhat surprisingly, more than one in 10 people think rice is grown in the UK.
Richard Macdonald, Director General of the National Farmers Union (NFU) said: "In today's world, the basic facts on food production and the countryside are no longer handed down from generation to generation.
"Our world-renowned countryside is the birthright of the whole nation. This campaign is about helping people reconnect with their rural roots and develop a greater appreciation of things that were once instinctive to us."
The survey suggested that less than two in 10 people know that three quarters of the UK's land surface is farmland, with two thirds never having met a farmer and less than one in 10 people know British farmers grow most of the food eaten in Britain.
So how do the organisers propose to improve farming facts among the UK population ? A country-wide campaign will see 'c/o British Farming' posters and banners going up around the countryside, a fleet of liveried lorries will travel the length and breadth of Britain as well as leaflets dropped through the nation's letterboxes with an invitation to visit the countryside.
According to the campaign organisers nine out of 10 people have no family connection with farming, whereas two generations ago nearly a quarter of the population had relatives in farming. Can the campaign make up for the demographic changes and urban saturation ? They can but try.