A MAJOR campaign to reconnect people with the food they eat has got under way across the south.

The campaign has been launched following a nationwide survey that revealed some alarming facts about the lack of awareness most people have about their food.

For example, 90 per cent of Britons questioned didn't know that beer is made from barley, and one fifth didn't know yoghurt is made from milk.

More than one in ten people thought rice was grown in the UK, two thirds of people have never met a farmer, and another two thirds of people didn't know we grow sugar in Britain.

The campaign - Care Of British Farming - aims to teach people more about farming in Britain and the importance of it to our way of life.

Farming organisations from across the UK have given their backing, including the National Farmers' Union, Royal Agricultural Society and Agricultural Engineers' Association.

Farmers will be on hand at a series of farmers' markets to answer questions about how food is produced and grown.

A massive poster campaign is also promised along with an Internet website, all of which aim to persuade people to visit the countryside and become more interested in where the food they consume comes from.

Hampshire NFU chairman Robert Corbett said: "Two thirds of the food people eat in Britain is produced in Britain, though many people don't realise this.

"For example, the UK produces around 58 million pints of beer annually and the barley to produce it is grown almost exclusively on British soil.

"However, it's a shame that a lot of people - particularly the young - don't know where their food comes from nor how it gets to them. This is what this campaign hopes to change.

"The old saying, 'you are what you eat', is certainly true, but with all the focus on healthy eating, it seems madness for people not to know where the food they eat was grown."

Farmers' markets take place monthly across the south including Winchester, Romsey, Petersfield, Hythe, Andover and Alton.

For further details on dates, log on to www.hants.gov.uk/farmersmarkets or our own special site dedicated to Hampshire food, www.thisishampshire.net/hampshire/food, which has a list of all local markets.