Tesco IHT and More Protest in Cookstown hailed as 'best yet' by FFA
Farmers For Action’s week four, county four Tesco protest was in Cookstown on Thursday night and was “exceptionally well attended with tractors, pick-ups and wellies”.
William Taylor, FFA, stated: “All credit must go to all those farmers, young and older, that came from Coleraine, Dungiven, Benburb, Omagh, Cookstown and further afield to support the continuing IHT Phase 2 weekly protests.
“These protests are building up to early March, when 11 letters that were sent out to 11 of the largest corporate food retailers in the UK, Tesco included, are being asked to support four vital questions for the survival of family farmers across the UK and to lobby Government accordingly. “Please see the detail of the flyer, protest instructions and the key letter layout with the questions to the food retailers on Farmers For Action (Northern Ireland) Facebook page.
“It is worth remembering that the great George Best did his best to advertise the Cookstown sausage decades back to put money into the area and his proud young photograph with his other half and the owner of the Royal Hotel Cookstown still hangs proudly in the Royal Hotel, while today, the FFA protests are all about trying to prevent giant corporate food retailers sucking the financial life blood out of not only the Cookstown area but across the UK.”
Sean McAuley, FFA, commented: “The stars of the night were the ladies who handed out the flyers to Tesco shoppers, our customers – along with well known local farmer Bertie Kelso, who grabbed the leaflets, got to work handing out flyers to the departing shoppers in their cars stating to us, ‘somebody has to get the message out!’
“In addition, another young farmer grabbed the leaflets and unusually had great success handing the leaflets out to inbound shoppers in their cars – all credit must go to everyone who turned up in their tractors, pick-ups and wellies and made the protest a complete success, so much so we ran out of leaflets.”
Next week, Thursday 26 February, Farmers For Action will be in Co Down at Tesco Bridgewater Retail Park Banbridge (Boulevard) where farmers, young and older, tractors, pick-ups and wellies will be must welcome for the leaflet drop.