British – thats an order
British – thats an order
THE Ministry of Defence has instructed its catering suppliers to increase the volume of British beef used to feed the armed services.
In a parliamentary written answer, junior defence minister John Spellar said the percentage of UK beef used would rise from the current 13% to almost a third.
"Our contractor, Booker Foodservice, estimates that some 40% of meat procured over the 12 months ending Sep 1998 will be from UK sources," Mr Spellar said.
He added that in recent weeks, the MoD had been working with Booker, MAFF and farmers representatives on how the position on beef might be improved. "I am glad… that Bookers estimate of 13% for the percentage of beef we buy from UK sources, and which I gave the House recently, has now been revised by Booker to around 30%," he said.
NFU president Ben Gill described the move as a significant victory for livestock farmers.