US trade deal and food standards

[Hyperion100]

www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/chlorinated-chicken-british-markets-us-trade-deal-trump-a9548431.html

As its pretty much a given that we'll be getting low quality food imports from the US post brexit, will you still buy it and feed it to your family? Or is this the time more of the nation genuinely goes veggie?

The US food lobbies want the UK to do away with food origin labeling (That was an EU initiative) as it would deter UK consumers from ever buying it so you'll never know you're eating it.

Takeaways, school dinners, ready meals, even the stuff off the shelves...it'll be everywhere.

The GM crops, the chlorinated chicken, the growth hormone fed beef all pumped up with ultra high levels of antibiotics.

It scares me to be honest and really is enough to make me, a committed carnivore, go veggie.

Apart from the genuine health implications of over prescribing antibiotics, using growth hormones and ractopamine (Currently banned in 160 odd countries), I worry the ground we've gained over the last few decades on animal welfare will just be thrown out the window.

The US food lobbies want the UK to do away with food origin labeling (That was an EU initiative) as it would deter UK consumers from ever buying it so you'll never know you're eating it.

I predicted that over a year ago, and was told to shut up because it won't happen.

Not only will it happen, but I can see laws being introduced (the US may even draft them for us) making it an offence to disclose the origins of food in a public forum (i.e. Facebook, Twitter, posters handed out in shopping centres).

Still, too late now. It's what we voted for, so it's what we're getting.

Good time to discover game, I reckon. Rabbit and venison can be lovely. Looking forward to squirrel. And if I can't catch a pigeon, I guess I deserve to starve anyway.

Yes it's a real concern. On a personal level DH and I have agreed we'll switch to mostly veggie with occasional meat purchased from local producers, if they can survive that is.

From an ecological point of view, it's a disaster and I hope there is a huge pushback on MPs like my own, presiding over a rural community who are going to see their livelihoods destroyed if this goes through as we fear

It's not passed the House of Lords yet so I hope they can add appropriate amendments.

Not not too late hopefully, It’s in the House of Lords atm
Write to your MP, my one had voted for it so I’ve been writing emails etc
Write to the supermarkets you use and tell them you will not be buying meats from them etc, anything you can say, say It.
I’m livid too

Farmers markets will still be able to sell their own produce
and butchers will be allowed to label stuff they have cut from the carcass
but anything packaged will lose provenance

www.grownyc.org/greenmarket/farmers

kirklandmarket.org/

ithacamarket.com/

www.heirloomfm.org/

and many MANY more

I've written a scathing letter to my MP who also voted down the amendments. Lets see what that bald headed, nose picking f*ck has to say.

I think this is going to be a done deal.

UK farmers will have to take up the same practices or go out of business.

When a 6,000,000+ signature petition can disappear, I think you can work out it's a done deal.

Clearly covid hasn't killed enough, so they need a hand.

I can see a booming black market in decent Irish meat being smuggled into the UK. Or indeed across the channel. Not so much a booze cruise, as a moos cruise ?

Hyperion
Union Square Green market is right outside a Wholefoods and there is a big Trader Joes three blocks down.
the farmers do not compete on price
they make a BIG thing of provenance and quality and welfare
and they sell out by early afternoon week in week out

Urban farmers markets like this
www.lfm.org.uk/markets/blackheath/
and its ilk are going to become more and more common
because of COVID and brexit and all sorts

I want to avoid US food imports so I am really concerned about this. I was hoping to be able to use the country of origin to identify this. Another point, in these hopefully more environmentally aware times, is the impact of food miles. I try to buy British to avoid excessive food miles. It’s shocking, but not surprising, how much pressure the US will put the UK under to gain a trade deal. A deal which will be one sided to suit the US imho as they flood our market with their imports.

Anyone have any thoughts about how organic food would be labelled? I’d rather pay more and buy less for better quality food.

PS
Having been to lots of US supermarkets over the years
the meat looks gorgeous and tastes of nothing.

Americans do not "do" Lamb - as it cannot be intensively reared

And don't start me on the fish

The US plan for an agriculture trade deal would destroy almost all UK agriculture

@DGRossetti - Boom boom...very good!

@ListeningQuietly - I can see that happening. I think good produce and high welfare meat will become a huge luxury from next year. For any UK producers still cutting it, they will charge an enormous premium, because they can.

Anyone have any thoughts about how organic food would be labelled?
Not.
At least it isn't in US supermarkets and restaurants
Provenance is just not a thing in their market

I want to avoid US food imports so I am really concerned about this. I was hoping to be able to use the country of origin to identify this.

Which is precisely why I can't see it being allowed.

Also notice the lack of discussion over GM labelling and how it will disappear once we're in.

But hey the idiots that voted for this knew what they wanted you know!

But hey the idiots that voted for this knew what they wanted you know!

Which will be the clarion call of any and all as they dismiss protests now.

It will be an interesting exercise to slice'n'dice the figures on this, as they bubble up. Because I know for a fact we are going to discover that despite the 52/48 vote for Brexit, it mysteriously emerges now (when it's too late) that very few people are in favour of what Brexit actually is.

How bloody frustrating
I was aware that organic standards in the US are not as rigorous as here. I’m angry about this. I have been careful for decades about what I eat, try to buy ethical and organic where I can afford to.

As soon as Brexit happened I was concerned this was our future. And I’m furious.

It's quite easy to see some targets being written into the law too - imagine that. If the UK doesn't manage to shift sell so many tonnes of chicken (not sure it that's nett or with chlorine) then it pays a penalty.

I know I'd put that in a deal if I knew I could get away with it. And as we know, there's no opposition to speak of in the commons (the lords doesn't mean shit in this situation) so it would be waved through.

When you remember that this "trade" deal will include clauses that give the US a veto on subsequent UK domestic law, and trade deals, there isn't much anyone can do.

Still, blue passports eh ? You really can't put a price on them. You really can't.

@DGRossetti
It was naive of me to think they wouldn’t legislate to protect their imports

Maybe the memory of the BSE crisis might work towards saving food standards (clutching at straws)

When you remember that this "trade" deal will include clauses that give the US a veto on subsequent UK domestic law, and trade deals, there isn't much anyone can do.

Nooo!! That’s just crazy if they agreed to that

Me again
You can write the the House of Lords, even find a Lord based in your area.
I think the site was. Writetothem.com

Sorry I don’t know how to quote so copied

You can write the the House of Lords, even find a Lord based in your area.

Only if you need the practice.

remember, 6,000,000+ signatures - 1 in 10 subjects (not just voters) and diddly squat fuck all happened.

When you remember that this "trade" deal will include clauses that give the US a veto on subsequent UK domestic law, and trade deals, there isn't much anyone can do.

Nooo!! That’s just crazy if they agreed to that

Well it's not yet signed, so in the offing. But it means that when the UK looks a deal with China, if the US doesn't like it, it doesn't happen.

Meanwhile (it gets better) if the UK manages to negotiate a better deal with Japan than the EU has, the EU will be automatically upgraded to the UKs T&Cs. I'd hope they'd sent us a bottle of wine as a Thank You.

If you want to write to legislators in the Lords, start with this lot
committees.parliament.uk/committee/408/food-poverty-health-and-environment-committee/

But as DGR says
they ignored millions of us marching
they ignored millions of us signing
and FPTP ignores millions of our votes

I also recall there are moves afoot to try and keep all deals out of parliament anyway. In which case you may as well write to the man who cleans the toilets in Buenos Aires exhibition station on the 3 days a year it's open. And despite the fact that "Pissy" Pedro can't speak a word of English, it would probably make more of an impact.

The best way to have stopped this was not to have voted for Brexit. Which you were told. At the time. Why didn't you listen ?

(That last was directed at the entire world, not necessarily any individual on this or any other thread, by the way ...)