We believe that everyone should have access to land and the opportunity to grow at least some of their own food. Most of what they cannot grow, they should be able to obtain locally from people they know and trust.

By growing some of our own food and sourcing the bulk of the rest locally, we can make a huge impact on the extravagant energy costs of shipping food around the country and around the world. By using environmentally benign growing methods that nurture and feed the soil, the soil will, in turn, nurture and feed us. By embracing an attitude of reverence for all living things, we must necessarily treat the planet and everything on it and within it with respect and love.

Our definition of the term 'local' cannot be a rigid one. It must take into account both city dwellers who must look further afield for production capacity to meet their needs, and the most rural areas which have much greater capacity than can be absorbed by their local communities.

Nevertheless, if we are to make the changes we urgently need to reduce energy consumption and pollution, food miles must be dramatically reduced overall. There is no sense in flying beans in from Kenya - even 'organic' beans - that could just as easily be grown domestically. It is absurd to import thousands of tons of apples from New Zealand while equally good apples lie rotting in English orchards. It is patently ridiculous to export about as much butter as we import, and there is no excuse for inflicting unnecessary cruelty on animals by sending them abroad while simultaneously importing meat from Argentina.

The WFA is aimed mainly at the smallholder and small-scale farmer, as this group is the most disadvantaged by the current political climate, which promotes the economies of scale over the values of 'small and local'. We feel that the countryside in general and rural economies in particular will be enhanced and strengthened by encouraging greater diversity in both the crops grown and the people growing them.