Are U.S. farm practices a threat to Britain?

SHEILA DILLON of Radio 4 — in ‘U.S. farming is tasteless, toxic and cruel’ (Mail) — reported that many chemicals banned in Britain will be used on our food if the Government does a deal with the U.S. farming lobby. A last-ditch battle is under way to get safeguards as the Agricultural Bill makes its way through the House of Commons next week. U.S. poultry is washed in chlorine as their birds are kept in crowded squalor, 60 million U.S. pigs are treated with the antibiotic Carbadox to promote growth, which is banned in UK, and U.S. cattle are fed steroid growth hormones. Covid has shown the need for a reliable food supply, but this can’t be achieved if we ruin our own farming. A. WILLS, RUISLIP, MIDDX.

There’s no need to fuss about importing beef and chicken from America. The British public will decide whether to buy it or not.

DAVID EDWARDS, Billington, Beds.

HYSTERIA about the word ‘chlorinated’, as attached to chicken, is really because it’s attached to Trump. The water you drink is chlorinated, the swimming pool is chlorinated, and salad you eat is washed in chlorinated water.

Simon Campbell, Glasgow. Sheila Dillon brilliantly put the case to reject any deal with the U.s. which would put the best farming practice in the world, ours, at risk. British food is a credit to those farming families who have toiled in all weathers to feed us. They will continue to feed us and future generations, without the so-called benefits of a disastrous U.s. model. This toxic practice must never happen here. so what are we to do? our land is to be respected, and we can do this by buying British food from Britain’s land. Whenever possible we need to aid our beleaguered rich wildlife by eating organic produce. More and more people recognise the benefits of eating organic food for their health, and the health of the planet, together with wise counsel from the many doctors writing in the Daily Mail. our farming and our precious landscapes — fashioned by centuries of livestock activities — must not be changed. We must as a nation stand firm against any meddling from outside these shores. Thank you sheila for bringing the threats to the attention of Daily Mail readers.

DAVID HARVEY, Chippenham, Wilts.