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.

I was about to be affronted as I’m a firm remainer.
I remember wearily the heated discussions in work.

How long before we hear leave voters say it's exactly what they voted for?

I never understood why Americans had such a thing about GMOs until I heard one expressing shock that you could grow a pepper at home from the seeds inside, because their's don't contain seeds. Plants effectively copyrighted. Then I realised we aren't just talking about things like Golden Rice.

Plants effectively copyrighted.

Just wait till they start on humans.

Honeysuckle
Not sure where you heard that but its not true.
ALL peppers have seeds in
BUT
most Americans buy them pre sliced in bags
or already assembled into dishes
or cooked in a ready meal / take out

they do not breed true though from most shop ones

A lot of work into genetic modification was into ways to make sterile seeds. You can plant them, but you can never grow another generation from them. It's modelled on drug pushing.

Oh sorry, I didn't mean like a nationwide thing. I wasn't clear. Family stateside mentioned it - I hoped that they were referring to their own local experience and they did say it was a while ago. Glad to hear things have changed.

@DGRossetti

A lot of work into genetic modification was into ways to make sterile seeds. You can plant them, but you can never grow another generation from them. It's modelled on drug pushing.

Ah, maybe this is what they meant.

From memory they didn't push (a word I use very advisedly) the "terminator" gene when they began genetic modifications. Again, like drug pushers, you need to hook the junkies first. But there was no dount that they want the world buying Uncle Sam grain. Every year.

Meanwhile, in the other direction, research into natural farming - in particular the weird effects of growing complemetary crops - goes underfunded and underreported. As every year wears our precious tired soil out that little bit more.

Still, I've heard you can live on air alone. So food is vastly overrated.

My dissertation project was about a biochemical pathway and its impact of potentially releasing sulphur back in to the soil in a useable form.

Best start eyeing up what part of the lawn I can turn over to veg beds...although I hope some of our agriculture neighbours will survive - the farm shop has thrived since lockdown hit.

But labelling may not be compulsory ( not that we know that ) nit ik
Pretty sure British companies or Irish etc will label there meat accordingly so if it says New Zealand lamb then you know or Aberdeen steak etc
If just says steak then we can avoid
P

Pretty sure British companies or Irish etc will label there meat accordingly so if it says New Zealand lamb then you know or Aberdeen steak etc

When you say "Irish" do you mean republic of Ireland ? They'll be subject to EU regulations. But any labelling in the UK could fall under the auspices of this trade deal. So if it's not to the US liking - it goes.

Maybe now people can see why the RoI/NI border is an issue. It would be a magnet for shady types to try and introduce the US chicken the UK got saddled with into the EU food chain (with the associated profits).

But, heigh ho, that's what we wanted, apparently. Too late to cry now.

@HoneysuckIejasmine
My final year project was on food safety

I need some hope to cling on to that sense will prevail

I think we're screwed

What little good it might do, you can sign the NFU petition here...

www.nfuonline.com/news/latest-news/food-standards-petition/

@DGRossetti but you have no proof this will happen

Yet it you go on hub site re: labelling no mention of scrapping labelling as we know it actually says what we will keep

** uk Gov site

Leaked documents show that the US food lobbies are heavily pushing for this. The UK government will do whatever the US ask for in order to get a deal.

More details:

www.soilassociation.org/our-campaigns/top-10-risks-from-a-uk-us-trade-deal/

@Hyperion 100
Thank you I’ve signed and sent it on

struggling
You do know that before the single market, smuggling across the Irish Border was absolutely rife
and part of the EU strictness on provenance comes down to the horsemeat scandal

but the USA bans provenance labelling
hence why the EU would never sign a trade deal with them

It’s being reported in the independent

Brexit is so stupid.

I'm not signing the NFU petition. Sorry.

I'm being Classic Dom, here. Dom the dismantler. We, the British (English) public need to feel the white hot heat of the consequences of our 'democratic' choice, June 2016.

Like many a dimmer child, we need to suffer the consequences of poor decision making, in order to learn. Which will actually entail grown ups taking charge again, with our tearful blessing, to Make It All OK Again.

Now. I loathe/d Gove as Education secretary/'we don't need experts' etc. He thrust an entirely new, unpiloted, non-peer reviewed, educationalist-disdained Maths and English GCSE curriculum 9-1, upon our DC, 5 years ago.

Fortunately for our guinea pig DC, in recognition of the potential political fallout of a year-group's disastrous showing (many involved Tory voter parents forensically running the stats) at those exams, many got glowing results which they weren't expecting. Like my own DS 😂.

However, I will give Gove one thing- a recognition of the howling, hideous hole in the centre of so much English education. The complete inability to spell. To articulate. To parse. To engage any critical thinking skills whatsoever.

This brought us Brexit. Farmers voted for it, demanding the government keep all them forrriners out, apart from their crop/pickers, or course.

We need to feel this pain in order to grow up.

This was a totally predictable consquence of brext. Indeed the point. Jacob rees mog was constantly going on about cheap imports and how great it would be. It's fascinating that so many farming communities voted for brexit.

Of course after a few years the market will adjust and the meat wont seem cheap anymore to british consumers so no real lasting gain and a load of environmental grief. Plus all the legal and sovereignty issues a PP has mentioned. There will also be problems with smuggling won't there? and all the crime problems associated. Still ... er ... blue passports.