Farming leaders call for commission to ensure food standards
A HIGH-LEVEL expert commission should be set up to make sure imported food meets the same standards as British produce after Brexit, farming leaders have urged.
The commission, made up of Government officials, farming bodies and other organisations, should make recommendations on how to ensure environmental, safety and animal welfare standards are maintained and how trade deals can be scrutinised by Parliament and industry in the future.
Concerns have been raised that trade deals with countries such as the US after the UK leaves the European Union could lead to a lowering of environmental and animal welfare standards or see British farmers undermined by cheaper imports that do not have to meet the same rules that producers in this country have to adhere to.
Food such as chlorine-washed chicken or hormone-fed beef, which are currently not permitted in the UK, could enter the food chain as a result of postBrexit trade deals, critics warn.
The National Farmers’ Union (NFU) president Minette Batters says she wants a commitment from Government that new trade deals will not undermine British farmers and food imports will have to meet the same standards that are required here.
The NFU wants a commission on the issue to report back before the end of that year, and for the Government to commit to act on its recommendations.
In a speech today to the NFU’s annual conference a year after being elected as its first female president, Ms Batters will say: “We are proud of our standards.
“We are proud that British people have access to affordable and quality British food regardless of their income. I have asked the Secretary of State to commit to ensuring that any future new trade agreements will not undermine British food standards.”
During the same conference, Mr Gove is expected to reaffirm that the UK’s high standards will not be compromised “in pursuit of trade deals” and will look to work with the sector to enhance standards even further. This includes working with the NFU to build a consensus around how to uphold high standards on the environment, food safety and animal welfare.
Separately, Mr Gove faced claims durng a visit to Scotland yesterday that the Government is guilty of a “feckless and reckless” approach to Brexit and that a nodeal scenario risks “irreparable” harm to the farming industry.