Jamie’s plea: Don’t betray our farmers
Chef joins our campaign as poll reveals public fears on US meat
AN OVERWHELMING majority of Britons oppose moves to ditch animal welfare and environmental rules as part of any new trade deal with the United States, an exclusive Mail on Sunday poll has found.
The news comes as TV chef Jamie Oliver joins The Mail on Sunday’s Save Our Family Farms campaign today and issues an impassioned plea to the Prime Minister not to ‘open the floodgates’ to cheap, lowquality imports from the US and at the same time drive world-class British producers out of business.
There are just over 50 days for MPs to stop a hugely important change in the law that family farm campaigners fear will allow sub-standard food into the country.
Last week, we revealed a Cabinet rift on the issue amid fears that International Trade Secretary Liz Truss is preparing to ditch UK welfare standards in order to strike an agreement with Donald Trump.
Ms Truss has been accused by farmers’ leaders of planning to turn Britain into a ‘pariah state’ by allowing the import of cheap foods pumped with antibiotics and hormones, in order to secure agreement with the White House after Britain’s transition period with the EU ends in December – something which she insists she has no intention of doing.
Environment Secretary George Eustice fears that flooding the UK market with cheap US products could drive many British farmers out of business.
And last night, the row deepened as former Environment Secretary Theresa Villiers – one of 18 Tory MPs who earlier this month rebelled over the sub-standard food threat – said: ‘We all want a good trade deal with the US but it must be one that is fair to British farmers and doesn’t undermine our world-class food and animal welfare standards.’
According to the Deltapoll survey, nearly three-quarters of respondents say maintaining UK welfare standards should be the priority, rather than reaching a deal with Washington. A further 59 per cent think our farmers should be given protection against countries with lower food standards.
The poll also reveals deep-seated, negative views about US agriculture, with 79 per cent saying the UK has better standards of food production.
More than two-thirds are concerned about the health risks of eating meat which has been washed in chemicals such as chlorine, while 77 per cent say a reduction in the use of antibiotics in meat should be part of any trade deal.
The flashpoint of the Tory row is the current Agriculture Bill which does not set any environmental or welfare rules for farm imports after Brexit. With the Government hoping it becomes law by mid-July, National Farmers’ Union president Minette Batters said the death knell for the traditional family farm could be sounded within weeks.
The survey found that 71 per cent of people worry that allowing substandard US products to flood the market could lead to the extinction of traditional British farms. Some 62 per cent of respondents said they were concerned about the future way of life for our farmers.
The Bill also paves the way for environmental subsidies to be paid to landowners even if they do not use their land for farming: current EU rules stipulate that the handouts can be given only if the land is used for agriculture or livestock: 48 per cent of people oppose this plan, and 26 per cent support it. Earlier this year, The Mail on Sunday revealed that Tim Leunig, a powerful adviser to Chancellor Rishi Sunak, had suggested that Britain did not need its own farming industry. Asked about this, just 16 per cent said the UK did not need farmers because ‘we can import everything we need to eat’. Three quarters disagreed.
Deltapoll co-founder Joe Twyman said: ‘A large proportion of the public are sceptical over what a possible trade deal with the US could mean for farming and food in the UK.’