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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To say that every one of us needs to watch last night’s Dispatches on Ch4.

239 replies

NellyJames · 13/10/2020 11:12

Just finished watching this. I knew it was bad but not this grim. Eye opening even for me. I knew about the meat but not the fruit and veg. And apparently the trade deal will only benefit the UK economy by less than 1%!
mobile.twitter.com/C4Dispatches/status/1315651199631319045?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Etweet

OP posts:
MagpieSong · 13/10/2020 13:39

It’s gross. There are real issue with food standards in the US, the knock on effects on health would be rubbish. That’s One reason why there’s quite a big organic/hippy movement in mums in the US, they have real problems around dodgy food. And yeah, half the UK voted to leave, but almost half of us didn’t and never wanted any of this. I also think that the half that voted to leave probably would have a majority wanting crappy US food. I won’t be watching as I’m already aware of the issues however, I fully agree with you that’s it’s just disgusting and not something we want here.

ChaChaCha2012 · 13/10/2020 13:39

Where are the Brexit voters telling us they knew what they voted for?

Clavinova · 13/10/2020 13:40

I hadn’t even thought about the US insisting that products originating in the UK should also not be allowed to state country of origin.

Canada have a free trade deal with the US - I can quite clearly see a large Canadian Beef sticker on this meat;

canadabeef.ca/canadian-beef-centre-of-excellence/

SerendipityJane · 13/10/2020 13:40

I'm sure the branding will give it away and/or people will end up working it out and uploading info on which brands are American if this stupid law is passed.

I'm much less sure. I can remember how hard the US tried to avoid any hint where GM ingredients were being used in their food. It was only the EU refusing to allow US produce in unless it was labelled that saved the day.

Can't see the UK being quite so special there.

Baaaahhhhh · 13/10/2020 13:41

I'm not sure they can insist on no labelling. Pretty much everything you buy has a "made in" label. Is that anti-competitive?

I think the supermarkets will push back against this as well. It is in their interest to promote UK produce from Waitrose to Aldi, it is a USP, so I think for all the noise, it just won't happen.

Thelnebriati · 13/10/2020 13:43

Well we knew what they voted for, but we were ridiculed and shouted down.
I was repeatedly told that the UK has high standards because thats what we in the UK do, and we didn't need the EU to do that for us.

nytimespost.com/ministers-blasted-for-using-arcane-parliamentary-rules-to-block-mps-from-chlorinated-chicken-vote/

baroqueandblue · 13/10/2020 13:43

I feel like getting a t-shirt made with the legend ONLY PUSSIES AND PSYCHOS VOTED BREXIT

SerendipityJane · 13/10/2020 13:47

I think the supermarkets will push back against this as well. It is in their interest to promote UK produce from Waitrose to Aldi,

You do realise you have just made the case perfectly for why a US trade deal on food is very likely to include restrictions on labelling ?

By the way, I've just looked at a map (Dominic Raab is selling them cheap). Turns out Canada isn't anywhere near the UK.

CrappleUmble · 13/10/2020 13:48

What about if your children have school dinners or you have to eat in hospital? Or prison?

Very good point re school dinners. Guess those'll be stopping in our house then!

pigsDOfly · 13/10/2020 13:50

I would love to hear from some of the Brexiteers on mn defending this and telling us why having the US dictating, and having the power to completely destroy our food standards is such a good idea.

Would also be interested to know why they think it's an improvement on the standards we had to adhere to under EU regulations.

They got what they wanted but unfortunately the rest of us are stuck with it as well.

SerendipityJane · 13/10/2020 13:52

I would love to hear from some of the Brexiteers on mn defending this and telling us why having the US dictating, and having the power to completely destroy our food standards is such a good idea.

We know they make up 52% of the people that voted - they never shut up about it.

Clavinova · 13/10/2020 13:57

I think the supermarkets will push back against this as well. It is in their interest to promote UK produce from Waitrose to Aldi

Waitrose:

"But whatever happens, let me give you our commitment. We promise we will never sell any Waitrose product that does not meet our own high standards. This promise is regardless of the outcome of any trade deal. It is our promise to you. It is our promise to our farmers. It is our promise to the nation."

AuntyPasta · 13/10/2020 13:58

The US wants labelling reduced. It will get it. You’ll also end up with ‘British’ products where the meat is imported from the US and ‘processed’ here - cooked, sliced, packaged.

Brexit was about separating from the EU trade block - which leaves us as a small country that has to bend over for bigger countries in order to get the trade deals we need to have a viable economy. We are going to have to make huge concessions.

Our politicians can’t keep our food standards because we’re in such a weak negotiating position. The US wants access to the U.K. food market and it’s going to get it. British farmers are going to find themselves competing against cheap, imported meat that’s full of antibiotics and chlorinated. They farm meat on a huge, industrial scale. The animals are pumped full of hormones and steroids to speed growth and weight gain. Most US crops are genetically modified and there are chemicals used in their production that are banned here. Their milk is allowed to have double the level of white blood cells in it that ours is - extra pus on your cereal anyone?

’the US allows far more pesticide residue on fruit and vegetables, and allows 72 chemicals banned in the EU, including some responsible for serious harm‘

’ractopamine, is regularly fed to industrially farmed pigs in the US, despite making the animals collapse, turn aggressive, suffer liver and kidney dysfunction, and even die. But it probably affects humans too, which is why not just the EU but also Russia and China have banned this dangerous chemical, as well as US pork that contains it.’
The Guardian

cyclingmad · 13/10/2020 13:58

The EU uses chlorine to wash salad and fruit so what exactly is the problem? Your happily munching on all of that or have you stopped buying?

Clavinova · 13/10/2020 14:00

Aldi

"UK’s Chief Executive has vowed that the supermarket will only ever sell fresh chicken and beef from British farmers. Giles Hurley also ruled out selling chlorinated chicken or hormone-treated beef, regardless of any future trade deals being struck for when the Brexit transition period comes to an end on 31 December."

"Aldi’s fresh chicken and beef range is already 100% British and the company confirmed today that this will never change. The commitment sits alongside the chain’s existing policies to only sell British products across multiple categories, including its core range fresh meat, milk and eggs."

"Hurley said: “Aldi is one of the biggest supporters of British suppliers and we want to make it clear that will always be the case. We are a signatory to the NFU Back British Farming Charter and our entire core range of fresh meat and milk is from Red Tractor-approved farms in the UK. We will never compromise on the standards or specifications of our products, and that includes a commitment to never selling chlorinated chicken or hormone-injected beef.”

"He added: “Britain has some of the highest food quality standards in the world, and our commitment to only source chicken and beef from this country means our customers know they are always buying high-quality Aldi products at unbeatable value.”

www.kamcity.com/namnews/uk-and-ireland/supermarkets/aldi-makes-post-brexit-food-standards-commitment/

BlankTimes · 13/10/2020 14:00

Are people aware of any differences between what our crops are sprayed with and what US crops are sprayed with?

A friend is harvesting potatoes at the moment and brought me some, he said 'Don't think these are natural because they are straight out of the field, they've been sprayed 15 times which is the same for any you'll buy in the supermarket.'

I think it's important to know what all types of plant and grain foods are treated with and how any animals, birds and fish have been raised treated and slaughtered, irrespective of their origin.

Dinosaursinthebathtub · 13/10/2020 14:02

I don't really want to watch it but will. I care a lot about food standards, especially because of medical conditions in the family that may make pesticides etc even more concerning.

But what can I do about this? Feels impossible. We spend more than I'd like on food already and this will only go up and up (as it has done already during pandemic)

Almostlegible · 13/10/2020 14:02

‘MPs have rejected the latest attempt to require imported food to meet domestic legal standards from 1 January’ - BBC website.
The government said they would protect our standards but they won’t allow protection to be enshrined in law.
By giving an 80 seat majority to ‘get brexit done’ one can only assume that the majority of voters are happy with lowering of standards and potential inability for our farmers to export to Europe.
Or perhaps they didn’t bother with doing a tiny bit of research.
Either way, too late to change now.

MintyMabel · 13/10/2020 14:03

P.S. I'm a conservative voting Brexiteer.

So, what did you think would happen when we no longer had an EU trade deal with EU protections behind it?

BaileysforBreakfast · 13/10/2020 14:06

Oh look. Here's cut'n'paste clavinova. What a surprise.

Clavinova · 13/10/2020 14:07

BlankTimes
Are people aware of any differences between what our crops are sprayed with and what US crops are sprayed with?

"Twenty-one years of using insect resistant (GM) maize in Spain and Portugal"

www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/21645698.2019.1614393

Thelnebriati · 13/10/2020 14:08

BlankTimes This from 2019
''Washington (AFP) - More than a quarter of the total volume of pesticides used in US agriculture are banned in the European Union, and 3 percent and 2 percent are banned in China and Brazil respectively, according to a study published Thursday in the journal Environmental Health.''
news.yahoo.com/quarter-pesticides-used-us-banned-eu-000720367.html?_guc_consent_skip=1602594506

baroqueandblue · 13/10/2020 14:09

Clavinova, are you being deliberately obtuse or just rubbing it in? What bit don't you understand about the trade deal conditions including legislation against anyone not playing by their rules? Waitrose and Aldi can't have it both ways. Like most of the other big name supermarkets in the last 4 years, they've been falling over themselves to pander to the 'majority of shoppers' by loudly advertising anything that they sell that's made in Britain as "BRITISH". Once our lords and masters bend over in every which possible way to pleasure their US counterparts, the supermarkets won't be able to boast about how British their produce is, unless they want to be sued to kingdom come. They'll change their tunes quick sharp Hmm

Hyperion100 · 13/10/2020 14:10

@cyclingmad

The EU uses chlorine to wash salad and fruit so what exactly is the problem? Your happily munching on all of that or have you stopped buying?
"Chlorine washed chicken" should really be rebranded as "shit covered chicken" or "chicken a la e-coli".

Now do you get it?

CallistoSol · 13/10/2020 14:12

@baroqueandblue

Terrifying prospect, and making me really angry. Like millions of others I didn't vote for any of this, and now our food supplies will effectively be poisoned because so many of us can't afford the mark-up on unadulterated, safe meat, veg and dairy. Those twats in government must hate us and our children because they're actively supporting legislation that will play havoc with our diets and consequently our health. And they're also selling off the NHS to American investment in private healthcare, so they'll make us sick and then charge us to get treatment for the cancers and other side effects from the muck they put on our plates.

And if you think I'm exaggerating or being over-emotional, you're in denial. Thanks for that, because your denial of the sick reality of what's happening right under our noses is the problem. They couldn't get away with this if you woke the fuck up, and gave a shit.

This.