Western Morning News

Online conference hears pleas on food standards

- ATHWENNA IRONS athwenna.irons@reachplc.com

MINISTERS from across the four nations of the UK have united in paying tribute to the gallant efforts of farmers after a challengin­g year, and renewed calls for high British food standards to be protected in future trade deals.

Coming together for the 75th Oxford Farming Conference, staged entirely online under the theme ‘Business as Unusual’, agricultur­e leaders from England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland made the case for how key workers in the food supply chain have performed a vital function in keeping the nation fed, while others stay at home.

It comes as the Government was defeated in the Lords again this week over maintainin­g standards on food, animal welfare and the environmen­t in future trade agreements.

An amendment requiring a code of practice to be set was backed by 290 votes to 274, majority 16, in the report stage debate on the Trade Bill.

It was the latest in a series of defeats inflicted by peers in the House of Lords on the legislatio­n which enables the UK to forge new commercial ties with countries after leaving the European Union.

Addressing the conference, held yesterday, Environmen­t Secretary George Eustice explained: “The events of last year have highlighte­d the importance of domestic food production to our food security and testing times such as these are a reminder to society about the jobs which really are important.”

Edwin Poots, Agricultur­e Minister for Northern Ireland, said Britain’s high food provenance, production and environmen­tal standards have the potential to be the “Rolls Royce” of product across the world.

“I don’t want to have to be competing with South American commodityb­ased agricultur­e,” he added.

“I want to sell the best product in the world to the best customers in the world.

“The importance of the agri-food sector has been highlighte­d throughout the coronaviru­s pandemic and has reinforced the importance of short supply chains. Consumers have backed the British farmer and we must build upon this, and sell the benefits of our industry at every given opportunit­y.

“A number of retailers have also recognised this and pledged to stock more British product on their shelves.

“I would like to encourage even more to ‘Back British Farming’.”

He continued: “Sustainabl­e food production is every bit as important as a sustainabl­e environmen­t.”

Scottish Rural Economy Secretary, Fergus Ewing, flagged concerns over the threat of cheap food imports, produced to standards lower than those adhered to by farmers both in Scotland and the rest of the UK. “We do not believe that food production can simply be left to the market,” he said.

“We are very concerned that cheap, imported food post-Brexit may threaten British farming. We argued for legal protection against that, protection­s which were refused by the UK Government.

“Indeed, if we were to simply reduce our production of homegrown beef and replace it with imported beef, the evidence suggests that our carbon footprint could well substantia­lly increase.

“Research done by the Food and Climate Research Network based at Oxford University has found the average global carbon footprint per kilo of beef is around double that of the same produced in the UK.”

And Wales’ Environmen­t Minister, Lesley Griffiths, used her speech to thank “fantastic” Welsh food and farming businesses, adding: “Last year we saw how a nation can pull together to protect our food supply, our environmen­t and each other.

“We saw, and continue to see, a truly team approach to Covid-19, and we must continue to build on this to ensure our recovery leads to a bright and successful future for Welsh agricultur­e.”

The events of last year have highlighte­d the importance of domestic food production GEORGE EUSTICE

 ?? T Holman ?? A number of retailers have pledged to stock more British products on their shelves
T Holman A number of retailers have pledged to stock more British products on their shelves

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