Why SCARF?

Increasingly, we see far-right extremists seeking to exploit the economic precarity, social isolation and lack of effective political representation often experienced by farmers and farming communities. Using agricultural imagery, they push the idea that rural communities are at risk from the threat of migrants and racialised others taking ‘what little they have’, inciting racism and division. TV personalities and social media influencers can amplify this, making direct reference to the Great Replacement conspiracy theory, using language such as ‘ethnically cleansing the countryside’ to ‘carpet bomb our farmland with new towns for immigrants’.

We believe this political rhetoric is directly causing harm to people of colour by enabling increased violence, intimidation and distress. These trends in our sector must be actively opposed.

We are aware that there are already many organisations and networks addressing these challenges within their own sphere. By acting as a standing conference, SCARF aims to act as a bridge between organisations across the food and farming sector who share values and interests. We take inspiration from the standing conferences that were established in the post-WW2 period by activists and others to combat various forms of oppression.