‘Growing cauliflowers is delicate work’ says Richard Johnson, food journalist and broadcaster. ‘And much of it has to be done by hand. It’s an art form. Heck, you wouldn’t know how to keep your compact curds nice and creamy white – nor would I. So let’s pay a fair price to the people who do. When the French farmers had had enough of low prices they were getting for their cauliflowers, they went on the rampage, and took two police officers hostage. British farmers are altogether more law-abiding. But let’s not push them…..’

The Real Food Festival is calling for the support of the consumer to keep one of our national treasures on the shelves and save our cauliflower! Farmers who grow cauliflowers during winter months are becoming victim to price pressure from supermarkets and cheap foreign imports. Growers of the vegetable in the UK, once a staple in British homes, say it is no longer a viable crop and many farmers are set to abandon it altogether.

Experts are warning that the British cauliflower will vanish from our plates unless farmers receive a fair price for their crops from retailers. Richard Hirst of the National Farmers Union (NFU) commented, ‘If growers can’t have a bigger share of the retail value to reward them for their work, they’ll go and do something else. Five years ago, growers were receiving 41 per cent of the retail value, now it’s 20 per cent.’ Richard continued, ‘Supermarkets are maintaining margin and not supporting growers. Some growers say they will reduce plantings or get out of production altogether if the price doesn’t go up.’

The aim of the Real Food ‘save the cauliflower’ campaign is to raise the profile of the iconic vegetable and highlight its importance to our food heritage and the health benefits of cauliflower. With your help we can highlight the plight of the British cauliflower producer.