I don't want shit food from the US

[flashbac]

So word has it BJ is waiting to see who wins US election. Trump = no deal with EU. Biden = half arsed attempt at EU deal.
I think Trump might win because too many people are so gullible and brainwashed.
So how can we avoid eating crap food from the US? Thus far EU standards have protected us from dangerous additives, excessive phalates in packaging, the list is long.

Hence no country of origin labelling

86% of beef sold in supermarkets last year was British.

@Lemonsyellow

The US can do away with their labelling, but they can't tell french companies to stop labelling their products as french. So therefore you can buy non-US products by process of elimination.

Products from around the world will have to be relabelled for the UK to remove country of origin if we want a trade deal with the US. Otherwise, the US say it is anticompetitive.

I didn't know that... that's pretty shit

[quote Hylyma1234]@20mum

Vegans can, with excellent intentions, cause destruction of the rainforest.

How do vegans cause destruction of rainforests?

Vegans and vegetarians make an ethical choice not to eat meat due to the inhumane treatment of animals within the meat industry and to reduce their environmental impact.[/quote]
I'm no expert but huge swathes of rainforest has been demolished to make way for soya bean production to cater , not just for animal feed, but for the huge and lucrative rise in plant based processed foods.

I also understand that avocado production isn't as environmentally friendly as we think.

The food miles for both of these is also to be considered.

I live in an area that produces high quality meat, dairy and fish. It's not easy or cheap to buy local meat but we do it. It's impossible to buy local dairy. Same for the fish and shellfish - 100% of it is exported to Spain.

@Rummikub

Is lamb the safest meat? It’s not produced in the US to a large extent.

Unless all our lovely lamb is earmarked for export.

It’s interesting looking at the allocation of space to beef compared to lamb (3.5 tines more allocated to beef by my reckoning)

Isn't a lot of UK sheep for wool ? Why else import NZ lamb ?

For some reason, the US doesn't really eat much lamb. Which is their loss. Maybe a climate thing ? Or just culture.

Most US farms only supply outlets in their own state. And with tiresome regularity it seems appropriate to point out (yet again) that the UK isn't the US. You could fit the British Isles (not just England) into most of the US states and have room left over. If the UK were a US state then England would easily match California for population (58million v 39 million) but that would be that. In terms of size, Englands 130,000 km/sq pretty much relegates it to the sub Mississippi league of states.

It’s quite hard to shop ethically.

There’s a lot to consider
Food miles
Animal welfare
Pesticides
Fair trade
Fair price
Quality/taste

My shop takes awhile!

@fortran

I was talking to a farmer just last week and she told me that many of these so called farm shops buy in their food, including meat, from mainstream suppliers- Danish bacon for example - the animals aren't raised on a small farm at all. They're simply selling supermarket food - repackaged if necessary.

One place has a few pigs in a barn next to the car park so the squeals can be heard whilst passing to go into the farm shop. The pigs are just for show though.

There's a farm shop near me that sells lots of imported, unseasonal produce.

I think that it might be difficult in the future to know exactly where our food comes from.

@SerendipityJane

I think NZ lamb is imported yo offer out of season lamb?

Trump's zero awareness of any history , science, health and culture means he has no clue what a Sisyphean task it would be, for the USA govt to introduce US standards on UK 's food market (or the NHS).

Trump's awareness of how badly the UK will need food after Brexit means he knows how fast standards will be lowered. And the MP's who voted against the HoL amendment, apparently forgetting how much their voters care about them, have sent the US a clear signal.

@Mamamia456

86% of beef sold in supermarkets last year was British.

And your point is...?

[quote Rummikub]@SerendipityJane

I think NZ lamb is imported yo offer out of season lamb?[/quote]
If you can import frozen NZ lamb, why can't you freeze UK lamb and sell it out of season instead ?

I can understand out of season strawberries being flown in fresh.

(I'm not a lamb farmer, so don't know the answer. Just asking questions).

@MythicalBiologicalFennel Thank you, yes, there's a whole load of unintended dire results of assuming vegan = o.k.

The points about living next to a food source and being unable to purchase are well made. The Way Things Have Always Been Done strikes again.
Fishing and farming representatives declare locals won't buy. But nobody is applying brain and ingenuity and labour, as long as furlough gives what would be enterprising business people our money to wait for the golden days when casinos and clubs can be filled to bursting with drunks, wanting them to stare at the wall rather than find something viable for their enterpreneurship. And furlough gives money to the staff who once filled the customers with drink, wanting them, too to stare at the wall rather than expecting them to find something viable for their time

@Rummikub

Is lamb the safest meat? It’s not produced in the US to a large extent.

Unless all our lovely lamb is earmarked for export.

It’s interesting looking at the allocation of space to beef compared to lamb (3.5 tines more allocated to beef by my reckoning)

Lamb is safest, yes, for meat, as it’s not greatly reared in the US. Also things like venison, pheasant, wild boar, rabbit etc.

@SerendipityJane

I’m not a lamb garner either😬

Maybe cost?
Is it cheaper to import NZ lamb instead of storing it?

Also I read once that it’s not frozen but kept just above freezing temp for transport.

Lemons yellow - My point is we produce the majority of the meat consumed in this country.

Buy local? In January? It's known as the 'lean time' for a reason - there is nothing in the ground. Turnips, brussels sprouts, stored potatoes and apples - that's about it for the UK. Any shop selling 'local' veg in Jan/Feb will be lying - it's brought in from abroad, and repackaged.

The UK cannot farm enough to feed its own population.

Any trade deal with USA is likely to insist that country of origin is removed though

I really doubt this.First, the US cannot "insist" on anything. It's all up for negotiation. - We (the UK) will be 'negotiating' from a position of weakness. What does the UK have to offer? Nothing. We will have to do what US says, if we want to deal in any way with them.

Why does it have to be the US? Why can’t we import from South Africa for example? Everything is cheaper there, land, labour, cost of upkeep.

Serendipityjane - Out of season strawberries are tasteless as is most fruit and veg that is imported out of season.

@Mamamia456

Lemons yellow - My point is we produce the majority of the meat consumed in this country.

Now we do. But in the years to come we definitely will not. British beef farmers won’t be able to compete with US farmers with their cheaper, hormone-filled beef. Many will go out of business, and many British farms will be bought by...big US farmers.

@queenofarles

Why does it have to be the US? Why can’t we import from South Africa for example? Everything is cheaper there, land, labour, cost of upkeep.

Presumably because that wasn't the will of the people, and this was ?

@Mamamia456

Serendipityjane - Out of season strawberries are tasteless as is most fruit and veg that is imported out of season.

Actually most fruit & veg sold in UK supermarkets is pretty bland and tasteless anyway. An excellent example of why trading by weight rather than quality isn't best for the consumer. But that's a different subject... I was simply questioning the "out of season" suggestion as a reason for importing lamb from the other side of the globe, rather than using UK reared lamb.

@queenofarles

Why does it have to be the US? Why can’t we import from South Africa for example? Everything is cheaper there, land, labour, cost of upkeep.

Because a trade deal with South Africa is tiny compared to the US market. We might be aiming to sell, say, super-widgets to the US, but the US says only if the US can sell meat to you Brits. Selling super-widgets to South Africa isn’t worth it for us, in comparison to the huge US market.

I’m vegan but my partner and kids eat meat. I only buy British and organic where possible. My partner and kids have already decided that they won’t be eating meat if country of origin labels disappear. I’ll be very happy about that. I think British stuff will stay labelled as British though. Other foods, we’ll just see what happens. I know lots of farmers so that may come in handy.

How much soy production is for animal feed though? If many people stop eating meat or eat less, will that help? Not all vegans eat a load of soy procucts either