Over 100 tractors gathered at the Houses of Parliament in London as farmers protested against the lack of help for UK food production. The farmers are worried about cheap food imports and policies that they think are putting UK food security at risk. They had signs that said things like 'Save British farming' and 'No farming, no food, no future'. Farmers from different parts of the UK, like Kent and Cornwall, took part in the protest.
This protest is happening while farmers in Europe are also protesting against European Union rules and cheap imports. In Wales, thousands of farmers are fighting against new plans for government support. Farmers in England are also unhappy with government agricultural policy, the Environmental Land Management farm payments scheme, weak trade deals, no import controls, and misleading labels. They think all of these things are hurting their businesses and making it hard for the UK to produce enough food.
One farmer at the protest, Colin Rayner, talked about how bad things are for his business and the future of farming. He said the government is focusing too much on the environment and not enough on making food. He also talked about how the cheap imports have lower standards. Rayner thinks it's really important to have enough food and that it should be good quality and come from the UK.
The founder of Save British Farming, Liz Webster, wants the government to make big changes and stop making "terrible trade deals" that will hurt UK food production. The government says it will help farmers and make sure the UK has enough food. They have plans to limit how much land can be used for other things instead of growing food. They also said that at least 60% of the food eaten in the UK will still be produced in the UK.
In summary, UK farmers protested in London because they're worried about the lack of help for UK food production. They're concerned about cheap imports, policies that don't support them, and what it means for food security. This protest is part of a bigger movement of farmers in Europe who are protesting against EU rules and cheap imports. The government says it will help farmers and make sure the UK has enough food, but the farmers want big changes to protect UK food production.
Original news source: Tractors brought to Parliament in farmers' protest (BBC)
π§ Listen:
π Vocabulary:
Group or Classroom Activities
Warm-up Activities:
– News Summary
Instructions:
1. Divide the students into pairs or small groups.
2. Provide each group with a copy of the article.
3. Instruct the students to read the article and summarize the main points in their own words.
4. Each group should then present their summaries to the class.
5. Encourage the class to discuss and compare the different summaries.
– Opinion Poll
Instructions:
1. Divide the class into small groups.
2. Assign each group a specific topic related to the article (e.g. cheap food imports, government support for farmers, food security).
3. Instruct each group to come up with three statements or questions related to their assigned topic.
4. Each group should then conduct an opinion poll within the class, asking their classmates to agree or disagree with the statements or answer the questions.
5. After collecting the responses, each group should present their findings to the class and lead a discussion based on the results.
– Word Association
Instructions:
1. Write the words "farmers" and "food production" on the board.
2. Instruct the students to brainstorm as many words or phrases as they can that are related to these two words within a given time limit (e.g. 2 minutes).
3. After the time is up, ask each student to share one word or phrase they came up with.
4. Write all the words and phrases on the board.
5. Encourage the students to make connections between the words and discuss their associations with each other.
– Sketch It
Instructions:
1. Divide the class into pairs.
2. Provide each pair with a large piece of paper and markers.
3. Instruct one student in each pair to be the "drawer" and the other student to be the "describer".
4. Without showing the article to the describers, the drawers should listen as their partners describe a specific scene or image from the article.
5. The drawers should then try to sketch what they imagine based on the descriptions.
6. After both partners have had a chance to describe and draw, they should compare their sketches to the original article and discuss any differences or similarities.
– Pros and Cons
Instructions:
1. Divide the class into small groups.
2. Assign each group a specific topic related to the article (e.g. cheap food imports, government support for farmers, food security).
3. Instruct each group to create a list of pros and cons for their assigned topic.
4. After completing their lists, each group should present their findings to the class and lead a discussion on the advantages and disadvantages of each topic.
5. Encourage the students to consider different perspectives and weigh the arguments presented.
π€ Comprehension Questions:
The farmers gathered to protest against the lack of help for UK food production.
The farmers are worried about cheap food imports and policies that they think are putting UK food security at risk.
The signs said things like 'Save British farming' and 'No farming, no food, no future'.
Farmers from different parts of the UK, like Kent and Cornwall, took part in the protest.
Farmers in Europe are also protesting against European Union rules and cheap imports.
Farmers in England are unhappy with government agricultural policy, the Environmental Land Management farm payments scheme, weak trade deals, no import controls, and misleading labels.
One farmer at the protest said that the government is focusing too much on the environment and not enough on making food.
The founder of Save British Farming wants the government to make big changes and stop making "terrible trade deals" that will hurt UK food production.
π§βοΈ Listen and Fill in the Gaps:
Over 100 tractors gathered at the of Parliament in London as protested against the lack of help for UK food production. The farmers are worried about cheap food imports and policies that they think are putting UK food security at risk. They had signs that said things like 'Save British ' and 'No farming, no food, no future'. Farmers from different parts of the UK, like Kent and Cornwall, took part in the protest. This protest is happening while farmers in are also protesting against European Union rules and cheap imports. In Wales, thousands of farmers are fighting against new plans for government support. Farmers in England are also unhappy with government agricultural policy, the Environmental Land farm payments scheme, weak deals, no controls, and labels. They think all of these things are hurting their businesses and making it hard for the UK to produce enough food. One farmer at the protest, Colin Rayner, talked about how bad things are for his business and the future of farming. He said the government is focusing too much on the environment and not enough on making food. He also talked about how the cheap imports have lower standards. Rayner thinks it's really important to have enough food and that it should be good quality and come from the UK. The founder of Save British Farming, Liz Webster, the government to make big changes and stop making "terrible trade deals" that will hurt UK food . The government says it will help farmers and make sure the UK has enough food. They have plans to how much land can be used for other things instead of food. They also said that at least 60% of the food eaten in the UK will still be produced in the UK. In summary, UK farmers protested in London because they're worried about the lack of help for UK food production. They're about , policies that don't support them, and what it means for food security. This protest is part of a movement of farmers in Europe who are protesting against EU rules and cheap imports. The government says it will help farmers and make sure the UK has enough food, but the farmers want big changes to protect UK food production.
π¬ Discussion Questions:
1. What is a protest?
2. How would you feel if you were a farmer and you were worried about the lack of help for food production?
3. Do you think it's important for countries to produce enough food for themselves? Why or why not?
4. How do you think cheap imports can affect local farmers?
5. Do you like the idea of government support for farmers? Why or why not?
6. What do you think are some challenges that farmers face in their businesses?
7. How would you feel if the government focused more on the environment than on making food?
8. Do you think it's important for food to meet certain quality standards? Why or why not?
9. What do you think are some potential consequences of "terrible trade deals" for UK food production?
10. How would you feel if a large portion of the food you ate came from other countries?
11. Do you think it's fair for the government to limit how much land can be used for things other than growing food? Why or why not?
12. What do you think are some ways that the government can support farmers?
13. How would you feel if you were a farmer and your business was being negatively affected by agricultural policies?
14. Do you think it's important for countries to have import controls? Why or why not?
15. What do you think are some ways that farmers can protect UK food production?
Individual Activities
ππ Vocabulary Meanings:
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Words
Meanings
π‘ Multiple Choice Questions:
π΅οΈ True or False Questions:
π Write a Summary:
Write a summary of this news article in two sentences.
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