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.

[Moistmolly]

Personally I spend more for good food, but some people don't care, & I don't think it's right that we force them to spend more on food that has met certain regulations/conditions that they don't care about/would rather not pay for

What a vile thing to say. Just because some people can't afford to buy good food, it doesn't mean that they don't care about how it gets to their table.

[Lemonsyellow]

@FurierTransform

Choice is good.
If a US trade deal gives the UK an ultra-cheap food option to lower than current standards, we become a richer country as a result. Choice = wealth.
Personally I spend more for good food, but some people don't care, & I don't think it's right that we force them to spend more on food that has met certain regulations/conditions that they don't care about/would rather not pay for.

Why do you assume that any US imports will be cheaper? They won’t be, not in the end. They have seen what the market will bear and will charge accordingly, once all competition is hoovered up.

[SerendipityJane]

If it's all about not spending so much, then let's ditch Trident, and become insanely wealthy.

Of course such a Janet and John view of economics is the sort of low quality thinking that saves £10,000 a year on streetlights, because someone else has to spend the extra £1,000,000 a year on increased RTAs, police attendance, days off work, death of taxpayers etc. Best ignored, really. It's people like that which got us here in the first place.

For the hard of thinking, any reduction in cost, paid for with a reduction in standards will mean an increase an all the diseases associated with shit food. Salmonella and botulism spring to mind. And even if you manage to wriggle out of having to pay for treating the victims (that don't die) because you've also fucked the NHS, then you're going to see a decrease in the efficiency of your workforce. Even if you sack them for being ill.

[GladAllOver]

It's not just the chickens in the US that live in filthy conditions.
There are the pigs that spend their whole lives in pens so narrow that they can't turn round. Which is necessary because they are fed on a chemical called ractopamine that makes them grow so quickly that their legs sometimes give way. Ractopamine is banned in the EU and most civilised countries - even China and Russia ban it.

[Teddy1970]

GladAllOver I know, it's so upsetting to think that animals are treated like this.

[FurierTransform]

@Moistmolly

Personally I spend more for good food, but some people don't care, & I don't think it's right that we force them to spend more on food that has met certain regulations/conditions that they don't care about/would rather not pay for

What a vile thing to say. Just because some people can't afford to buy good food, it doesn't mean that they don't care about how it gets to their table.

You're kidding? How is it vile to want to give some people the option of purchasing cheaper food? (Yes, I'm making the assumption that it will be cheaper for the consumer)
And the reality is that some people really don't care how food gets to their table - they just want food, as cheap as possible. It's a free country, & the ones that care can just not buy it.

Let's get real & put the politics & scaremongering to one side - We're not talking mass importation of poisoned carcasses that are completely unfit for human consumption. the USA is an extremely litigous nation & does have food standards.

[thewitchesofprestwick]

Don’t be obtuse @FurierTransform - when food is cheap, we all pay for the externalities.

[KenDodd]

Well we get what we vote for. We were told Brexit would threaten our food standards (and workers rights and environmental protection) and voted for it anyway. As far as I'm concerned anyone who voted Leave or Tory has no right to complain. And that includes farmers with massive Vote Leave or Vote Tory billboards in their fields who are now worried about their businesses. Nobody (unless unbelievably thick) can pretend they didn't know, after all we've all heard non stop over the last four year you "knew what we voted for".

[Clavinova]

Ractopamine is banned in the EU and most civilised countries - even China and Russia ban it.

"2017 - Russia plans to temporarily ban imports of beef and beef products from New Zealand from February 6 after finding the feed additive ractopamine in some samples, Russia's agriculture safety watchdog said in a statement,"

"The watchdog, known as Rosselkhoznadzor in Russian, said it was also considering banning fish imports from New Zealand due to traces of mercury in some supplies."

Naturally, the EU are now conducting free trade negotiations with New Zealand.

"CHICAGO, Feb 18 (Reuters) - Spam-maker Hormel Foods Corp is eliminating a growth drug banned by China from its hog supply, the company said on Tuesday, joining rivals that are seeking to increase meat sales to Chinese buyers grappling with a pork shortage."

"Hormel will not accept any hogs that have been fed or exposed to the drug ractopamine after April 1, the company said in a statement."

"Tyson Foods Inc and JBS USA said last year they would remove the drug from their supply chains."

“We have been actively monitoring the changing global market dynamics for several years and believe this decision will further position us to meet growing international demand,” Hormel said."

uk.reuters.com/article/hormel-foods-pork-china/hormel-joins-tyson-foods-jbs-in-removing-drug-banned-by-china-from-hog-supply-idUKL1N2AI1O7

[MayYouLiveInInterestingTimes]

KenDodd I wouldn’t mind but they’re taking us all with them.

[thewitchesofprestwick]

I am heartened by posters who support local independent butchers and food shops, but using them is still no guarantee of provenance. One independent butchers I know of had been buying stock from the 2 Sisters, who were caught tampering with food safety records to put out of date products back on sale. You have to be prepared to ask questions about which farm the food is from.

If the public would prefer to avoid US food products, and pay a premium for British produce, food fraud, which is already on the rise is likely to get worse. Recently a restaurant near me was called out by an artisan producer for naming their artisan meat products on the restaurant menu but substituting a product that was much cheaper. It's much simpler to ban poor quality products that do not meet current UK food standards from the marketplace.

[Rummikub]

There’s been a firming up of an independent food standards commission. So that should offer some more protection.

[DC3Dakota]

What have I missed??? Is our imported food now going to be sourced from the US?