Campaign encourages consumers to show support following Foot and Mouth outbreak

A major campaign promoting Quality Standard Mark beef and lamb has been launched in a bid to help the sector recover from the impact of the outbreak of foot and mouth disease.

The English Beef and Lamb Executive campaign, launched today (Tuesday 7 August) hopes to encourage consumers to show their support for farmers by buying QSM meat.

John Cross, Eblex chairman, said beef and lamb exports, which have now been banned due to the outbreak, were worth £30m a month to the livestock industry.

He believed consumers would want to show their support for livestock farmers in the wake of the outbreak.

“Many beef and sheep enterprises have only just started to recover from the impact of the 2001 epidemic, so encouraging consumers to choose quality beef and lamb as a mark of their support will help farmers at this critical time.”

The campaign will include the launch of a lamb foodservice campaign and the unveiling of a giant sheep beside the M62 in Bradford to promote QSM beef and lamb.

Eblex will also be working with supermarkets to encourage them to source QSM meat.

Keep up to date with the latest news, industry comment and opinion by visiting our dedicated foot and mouth page – your first port of call for relevant information.