Mark Casci: Now, more than ever, we need a bond between countryside and consumers

The show itself will do what it always does and excels at; namely acting as a shop window for everything that the countryside brings to British life, from prize-winning cattle to shooting and falconry.

As well as helping to give recognition to the countryside, the Great Yorkshire Show in 2010 fulfils an even higher purpose – it brings people together.

The advent of mass retailing in the food industry has meant that the vast majority of the British public has lost touch with what they eat. It's easy to see this is the tip of the iceberg and a symptom of a growing disconnect in our society. More and more, it is easy to think that we are fulfilling the nightmare WB Yeats foretold in the Second Coming when the poet wrote: "The falcon cannot hear the falconer, things fall apart; the centre cannot hold."

The reality is, of course, that we are some way off this – and the 2010 Great Yorkshire Show helps to prove that.

Although many in attendance will be from rural villages themselves, a high proportion will be from the towns and cities – keen to get a flavour of the countryside.

Now, more than ever, we need this link to be strengthened. If Britain's rural communities are to have a future, they will need the support of the urban-based consumer.

They will need a growing demand for British food and they will need a public which demands that farmers and rural businesses are given the fair deal they deserve, from the prices they are paid to the laws they

live under.

Anyone heading to the showground will see food production as it should be – quality products produced efficiently and sold honestly.

They will taste what a fantastic array of food and drink Yorkshire has to offer. Above all, they will hear from farmers and top chefs about how buying locally-produced food not only means good quality, but

massive benefits for the rural economy.

Demand for locally-produced food is increasing as savvy consumers choose to buy ethically-produced food that has not been shipped in from

the four corners of the globe at untold cost to the environment. And more politicians and business leaders are finally waking up to what British farmers have known all along – that supporting British agriculture is a win-win situation.

It makes financial sense – research by Oxfam reports that every pound spent on locally grown food puts at least 3 into the local economy. It provides the nation with a healthier and more environmentally-friendly diet. And, most importantly, it makes Britain able to stand on its own two feet and feed itself, rather than being at the mercy of commodity markets and weather conditions all over the planet.

A year ago, the Yorkshire Agricultural Society, the charity which organises the Great Yorkshire Show, launched Fodder – a flagship food shop and caf specialising in Yorkshire produce. In its first year, it has given 185 farmers an outlet for their produce and injected 1.9m into the local economy. Fodder is based on the edge of the Great Yorkshire Showground. Yet it is pulling in customers from far further afield.

The word "traceability" is very fashionable in the food industry in 2010. "Foodies" love to boast about where the food they cook and eat comes from, proud that they can accurately track its origin. Not so long ago, this was not always the case.

The supermarket industry has done untold good, pumping billions into the nation's coffers and providing employment for hundreds of people in every town in the country.

The downside is that shoppers become oblivious to their food's provenance as they buy every conceivable item under one roof.

Children think milk comes from plastic cartons and retailers are able to get away with labelling food as British when, in fact, it has just been wrapped in cellophane here – having been produced to very poor standards of welfare abroad.

Thanks to years of campaigning by a passionate farming industry, this is gradually changing. My local supermarket proudly prints

the faces of farmers on its meat and the Red Tractor – a symbol which provides a cast iron guarantee that the product is British – appears on more and more fresh meat every time I visit.

To their credit, many big supermarkets have been making new commitments to back British agriculture, rather than hinder it. They will all be in attendance at the show, proudly telling visitors what they are doing to support British farmers.

The Great Yorkshire Show was born in 1837 in the backroom of a smoky York pub, at a meeting by a group of farming enthusiasts and leaders to discuss the future of the farming industry. Their decision was to hold an annual "show of excellence" in their profession. More than 170 years later, this show of excellence lives on and is stronger than ever.

But, today, it exceeds its original remit – using what makes Britain's countryside so wonderful to unite farming and non-farming people alike and the vast crowd the show brings in is testament to the enduring appeal of Britain's farming and rural communities.

Farming has endured some dark days in the past decade. Foot and mouth, low prices and flooding must have left many farmers thinking that, frankly, no-one cared what they do.

This week's show goes someway to dispelling that fear. People do care.

Now it's time for us all to show it.