A Suffolk farmer has joined forces with colleagues across the country to call for an end to "farmwashing". 

Jimmy Doherty, owner of Jimmy's Farm in Wherstead, outside Ipswich, is among the campaigners who have written to the "big-six" supermarkets calling for more support for local producers. 

The Farmers against Farmwashing campaign, led by Riverford Organic vegetable box company founder Guy Singh-Watson, claims major supermarkets are using fake farm brands and overuse of Union Jack branding to give shoppers the impression that their products come from “quaint British family farms”.

Farmer and TV presenter Jimmy Doherty said: “Britain’s small-scale farmers are facing extinction, pushed to the brink by the rise of US-style mega-farms. These enormous operations might make meat cheaper, but the hidden costs are devastating compromises on animal welfare, environmental harm, and the destruction of traditional farming livelihoods.

“We’re seeing generations of family farms swallowed up, replaced by faceless corporations that are driven by profit rather than people or the planet. It’s time we take a stand and support real British farming before it’s too late.”

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The letter has been signed by more than 100 people across the farming and food industry. 

A survey of 202 farmers in July  who are currently trading supermarkets, or have done within the last five years, found 61% are concerned they will have to give up their farms within the next 18 months. 

An NFU spokesperson said: "The NFU has long argued that shoppers need clear, honest and unambiguous labelling on the food they buy, and we continue to engage on this with both government and the supply chain." 

Mr Singh-Watson added "British farming is at breaking point" and that "supermarkets must stop exploiting farmers and start supporting them."