Farming and Agriculture

In the UK farming has long been an integral part of the economy. Although there are many farms still active in the UK the industry has admittedly suffered somewhat of a decline, although this can be partly blamed upon the misfortune of events such as the foot and mouth outbreak, which adversely affected the livestock farming industry. However despite various set backs and a poor economic climate farming goes on regardless in the UK and a variety of different crops and livestock are produced.  Unlikely the farmed produce of many other countries a great deal of the products farmed in the UK are not exported and stay within the country. British meat, which is often deemed to be of a higher quality than inexpensive imports, often carries a premium in super markets.

In recent years in the UK there has been an increased damned for free range and organically farmed produce and the farming industry has responded accordingly. However, despite this high demand for these goods there is still a great deal of people who prefer to purchase the lower cost intensively farmed products, despite the controversy surrounding. A great deal of livestock, notably poultry is intensively farmed in the UK, which has caused a great deal of controversy. However, this low cost meat produced in factor farms is arguably necessary as not everyone is able to afford the more ethical free range, organic produce.