A major campaign to reconnect people with the origins of their food is served up this week.

Startling research shows that most Britons don't know where their food comes from.

But now, for the first time, 12 leading farming groups have got together to dish out the real facts and change popular perceptions.

The survey showed that nearly 90% of consumers don't know that beer is made from barley, a fifth don't know yoghurt is made of milk and, shockingly, more than one in 10 think rice is grown in the UK.

Less than a fifth of people know that three-quarters of the UK's surface area is farmed and two-thirds have never met a farmer.

The findings coincide with the campaign to demonstrate what farming delivers for society.

The survey shows that urban Britain has never been more disconnected from its rural roots than in 2003.

Other findings are:

l Two-thirds of people don't know sugar is grown in the UK, more than a third don't realise cherries are grown here and almost one in 10 don't know we grow onions and tomatoes;

l Fewer than one in 10 people know British farmers grow most of the food we eat;

l More than half don't realise margarine is made from vegetable oil, with over a quarter thinking it is made from milk or animal fat;

l Nine out of 10 people have no family connection with farming, whereas two generations ago, nearly a quarter of the population had relatives in farming.

"Care of British Farming" posters and banners have been going up this week, with South-East farmers meeting consumers at a series of farmers' markets and open days.

Speaking on behalf of the campaign partners, NFU regional director, Shaun Leavey, said: "The basic facts on the origins of our food are no longer handed down from generation to generation and people often overlook the fact that the countryside is at the hub of food production.

"This campaign is about helping people to reconnect with their rural roots and to gain a greater appreciation of things that were once common knowledge."

Mark Pendlington, CLA chief executive, said: "We hope this will help people make better informed choices about food and help them to appreciate why our beautiful landscape looks the way it does."