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COUNTRY LIFE SETS RURAL AGENDA WITH 2008 MANIFESTO
April 10, 2008
Country Life – the quintessentially English magazine – is unveiling The Country Life Manifesto 2008 with today's issue.
The new 10-point manifesto underlines the magazine's ongoing commitment to campaign for the health and well-being of the rural way of life. It follows the huge success of the last manifesto – in which many of the issues raised were acted upon, including the magazine's call for countryside lessons to be taught in schools, which led to meetings with the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and a change to the national curriculum last year.
Country Life editor Mark Hedges says: “Our manifesto touches everyone's lives. Britain needs a productive countryside and one that is properly managed and cared for. With little sign of the economic gloom lifting in the near future, we want Britain to eat, drink and be merry – in ways that will benefit the countryside and help address the challenges that face us.”
The magazine, which has represented the interests of the countryside and its way of life for the past 110 years, is calling on the Government, associated bodies and the public to support 10 points:
- Give children more freedom
- Label food by county of origin
- Eat a rare breed
- Reduce Britain's deer population by 30%
- Drink English 'champagne'
- Clean up our verges
- Learn to love GM crops
- Only eat ethically produced chicken
- Save protected rural areas from flight paths
- Plant a tree
Mark adds: “We'd like to highlight the need for children to spend more time out of doors, exploring the countryside. A fifth of all children never visit the countryside. Those who do may find that officialdom discourages them from playing with conkers or touching livestock. We're staunchly of the view that there's nothing better than a proper country childhood – and that means losing some of the cotton wool in which young lives are wrapped.”
Readers are invited to vote online for what they believe is the most important way to improve the life of the countryside at www.countrylife.co.uk/manifesto2008.
This week's issue also includes a guide on how to create your own meadow, inspirational ways to transform a country kitchen, My Week with author and former English Heritage Commissioner Candida Lycett Green and a review of the Grand National by racing correspondent Jamie Douglas-Home.
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About Country Life
Country Life, the quintessential English magazine, is undoubtedly one of the biggest and instantly recognisable brands in the UK today. It has a unique core mix of contemporary country-related editorial and top end property advertising. Editorially, the magazine comments in-depth on a wide variety of subjects, such as architecture, the arts, gardens and gardening, the countryside, field-sports and wildlife.
About CountryLife.co.uk
The online arm of Country Life magazine, Countrylife.co.uk is the home of premium property featuring thousands of the most outstanding properties for sale or rent in the UK and overseas. Also covering property and countryside news, arts and architecture features, archives and galleries, Countrylife.co.uk is the voice of the countryside online.
FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:
Anna Gawan, press officer, IPC Media on 0203 148 85405 or email anna_gawan@ipcmedia.com
