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 do believe though that British farming is very resilient and whilst there might be a blip initially the concern over food miles and food standards will win out.

For those who can afford to look for quality, yes. However, what about the meat bought by schools? By hospitals? By the military? By workplace canteens? By restaurants, or sandwich shops, or fast food outlets?

When you let the crap into the network, it's hard to avoid unless you go entirely vegetarian when you're eating outside your own home or in restaurants that charge you to know the provenance of your meat.

But that already happens. Even your posh M&S chicken sandwiches are full of Thai chicken even now. Cheap chicken is cheap chicken wherever it comes from.

I suppose what I mean is that an awful lot of farms in the UK aren't 'businesses' in the traditional sense. The vast majority of farms in the uk are still small family run units. They often don't pay themselves a wage for working 16 hour days for most of the year.

They make hay in the good times and adapt in the bad times but they aren't en masse going to stop farming just because it's not profitable any more, they will keep going, adapt and take the hit until it becomes profitable again. Like they have done before.

British Farmers have a unique product currently in terms of high welfare, sustainable and non adulterated meat. They just need to market it better and not take shitty over pricing/ under paying from the supermarkets,

But that already happens. Even your posh M&S chicken sandwiches are full of Thai chicken even now. Cheap chicken is cheap chicken wherever it comes from.
Um no
They are full of Chicken from farms that comply with the EU clearance rules
to get that meat into the EU

but the USA farmers cannot / will not comply with such rules
so cannot sell to the EU

is Customs Clearance
non tariff regulatory alignment
REALLY
that hard to understand ?

0% tariff is irrelevant,
its the labelling and regulatory hurdles that are key

@ListeningQuietly

But that already happens. Even your posh M&S chicken sandwiches are full of Thai chicken even now. Cheap chicken is cheap chicken wherever it comes from. Um no They are full of Chicken from farms that comply with the EU clearance rules to get that meat into the EU

but the USA farmers cannot / will not comply with such rules
so cannot sell to the EU

is Customs Clearance
non tariff regulatory alignment
REALLY
that hard to understand ?

0% tariff is irrelevant,
its the labelling and regulatory hurdles that are key

It's not hard to understand. I understand completely.

I also understand that people who already buy Thai chicken aren't suddenly going to start caring if it meets EU standards or not. They just want a chicken and bacon sandwich/ cheap sweet n sour chicken ready meal. They already don't check labels, they already don't care.

If people really cared then the horse meat 'scandal' would have ended multiple careers and businesses. It didn't. It just became joke and the people eating cheap Tesco ready meals continued to do so.

We are livestock farmers, we sell direct to local butchers and even directly from farm if I'm organised enough - life will not change massively for us even in a worst case scenario.

But this is a chance for consumers to vote with their feet - don't buy from supermarkets, don't buy from vendors who cannot source trace their produce, because inevitably when you do it's either poor quality or the farmer has been ripped off by the middle man. Support local butchers and don't accept dross.

Frilly
Do you really think that people will pay full whack for your produce if dodgy US shit was 1/3 price in the supermarket freezer aisle
unlabelled

get real

@frillyflamingo

We are livestock farmers, we sell direct to local butchers and even directly from farm if I'm organised enough - life will not change massively for us even in a worst case scenario.

But this is a chance for consumers to vote with their feet - don't buy from supermarkets, don't buy from vendors who cannot source trace their produce, because inevitably when you do it's either poor quality or the farmer has been ripped off by the middle man. Support local butchers and don't accept dross.

Absolutely.

Perhaps one good thing to come out of corona and long term home working arrangements is that hopefully people will continue to use their local butchers/ greengrocers etc to compliment their supermarket shop.

If those businesses have any sense they will heavily push deliveries at weekends etc and also the 'local, sustainable' message.

@ListeningQuietly

Frilly Do you really think that people will pay full whack for your produce if dodgy US shit was 1/3 price in the supermarket freezer aisle unlabelled

get real

No the people who already buy her produce and it's ilk it will continue to do so.

The people who already buy cheap meat will continue to do so wherever it comes from (hint, not from British farmers).

The people in the middle of those two extremes may be prompted to look more carefully at food labels and will have to decided
if they want to buy something cheap of unspecified origin or if they want to spend a bit more for peace of mind. NFU / AHDB members need to insist their subs go towards employing a shit hot PR company as a priority for the next few years.

Interesting letter -

www.foeeurope.org/sites/default/files/gmos/2020/ngo_letter_eu_us_trade_gmo.pdf

This popped up on my FB feed for anyone interested in supporting UK farmers - a go-slow demo (tractors, cars and whatever ...) 20th June in London.

www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/drive-tractors-trucks-cars-to-parliament-square-drive-slow-demo-tickets-108429748296