The View campaign was launched by the Countryside Agency and Agriculture minister Nick Brown to persuade shoppers to buy more locally-grown produce. Consumers can also help farmers to opt for environmentally-friendly methods by buying British organic produce.
Organic farms are virtually pesticide free, which is better for wildlife.
The agency, the Government's adviser on rural affairs, is already producing directories of local products for Kent's High Weald and the Suffolk and Norfolk coasts. The agency has found that 75 per cent of shoppers are willing to pay a bit more for food which is grown or reared in ways which help conserve the countryside. Its poll showed that one in two shoppers buy local produce every week but have to go to farm shops, markets or health food shops to find it. They want supermarkets to stock a percentage of local produce - and 70 per cent want legislation to require this. The campaign comes a fortnight after the Daily Express revealed that supermarkets are importing large volumes of fruit, vegetables and meat from abroad, even though they can all be grown here.