Linking Environment and Farming (LEAF) and the LEAF Marque Standards are based on Integrated Farm Management (IFM) principles. These principles can be applied to all types of land-based management, within any farming enterprise, anywhere in the world.

 

IFM is recognised as a farming system that delivers a better environment for the benefit of wildlife and the countryside whilst producing affordable safe produce.

 

The UK is part of a global food industry. Fruit and vegetables are produced in the UK and also imported; the customer has a wide choice and is increasingly committed to healthy eating and is demanding a healthy diet all year round. LEAF supports the production and consumption of local food where ever it is produced and wish   to see this flourish. 

 

LEAF has worked on developing environmental standards within UK farming since 1991.   As consumers learn more about the food they eat, they are asking for food produced according to LEAF Marque standards. The LEAF approach needs to be expanded to cover food produced everywhere.

 

 

Food miles are more complicated than they appear. Eating only local food can cause conflicts between fair trade and the environmental impacts of food transport. Consumers should be made aware of where and how their food is produced so they can make an informed decision about what they buy.

 

LEAF is concerned with farming, and how farmers everywhere produce food. LEAF Marque certification is the consumer’s assurance that what they are buying has been produced with care for our environment, our wildlife, our countryside and therefore our future.