How Boris has reneged on food safety !!!

The scumbag 'nasty party' have allowed our food safety standards to be diluted to allow the importation of food from the US, despite the US having lower food satety standards.


How Boris Johnson dropped his promise to reject America's chlorinated chicken
A timeline of events shows how the UK easily folded to American pressure, Jon Stone reports





MPs and campaigners are angry about Downing Street dropping a pledge not to accept US foods like chlorinated chicken and hormone-fed beef and pork as part of a US trade deal.

A quick look at the timeline of events makes it clear how this happened.

10 January 2020
Environment secretary Theresa Villiers was clear: "We will not be importing chlorinated-chicken. We will not be importing hormone-treated beef," she told the BBC's Countryfile programme. This was effectively reiterating a longstanding policy, assumed to have been in place since 2017 when Michael Gove said the UK would not lower its food standards.

30 January 2020
Less than three weeks later, something changed. US secretary of state Mike Pompeo was interviewed by LBC radio and made clear that if the UK wanted a trade deal, it would need to open its food cupboards to US producers. “Our ask will be as it has been in the other negotiations,” he said. He suggested British farmers were scared of competing with the products, adding "We need to be open and honest about competitiveness. We need to make sure we don’t use food safety as a ruse to try and protect a particular industry.”

23 February 2020
What happened next suggests the message was heard loud and clear in London. Asked about the pledge to keep the food standards less than a month after Pompeo's intervention, the new environment secretary George Eustice refused to guarantee the ban – stating only that the government had "no plans" to change the law.

5 May 2020
This is when trade talks with the US formally opened. On this day Chuck Grassley, the Republican senator from the farming state of Iowa who chairs the US senate - which has sweeping powers on trade - elaborated further. Getting banned US food on British plates wasn't just part of the deal... as far as he was concerned, it was the deal. "All I'm hoping to do is if we get a good deal with the UK on agriculture, it's going to embarrass Europe," Mr Grassley said.

4 June 2020
With trade talks running for less than month, Downing Street appears to have folded - or at least put the issue of American food on the table. An article in the Daily Telegraph quoted a government source spelling out the UK plan, which Boris Johnson's spokesperson wouldn't deny when questioned later during a briefing of journalists. He also refused to repeat the pledge on chlorinated chicken, which is now apparently history.

 

It seems some of Boris's own back-bench 'nasty party' members are unhappy with Boris reneging on the government's previous commitment not to import food which does not meet our strict 'safety standards'.


Boris Johnson facing backlash after scrapping pledge to keep chlorinated chicken out of British supermarkets
Government accused of not standing up to Donald Trump’s trade negotiators


Boris Johnson is facing a backlash for ditching a pledge to keep US chlorinated chicken out of British supermarkets under pressure from American negotiators in post-Brexit trade talks.

Tory backbenchers warned the government was in for a rebellion on the issue while animal welfare groups and opposition parties accused Boris Johnson of refusing to “stand up to Donald Trump” and “sacrificing food standards” in the name of a trade deal.

Downing Street signalled on Thursday that imports of lower-standard American food were now on the table in the negotiations, a reversal of a longstanding promise.

As recently as January, Theresa Villiers, then environment secretary, reiterated that “we will not be importing chlorinated chicken” – but since then US trade chiefs have put pressure on the UK to change its position, leading the government to change tack.

While the government’s own best-case scenarios says an agreement with the US would lead to a tiny boost to the economy of just 0.16 per cent of GDP, failing to sign such a deal would be highly politically embarrassing for Boris Johnson, who has presented such an arrangement as part of the alternative to EU membership.

Watch more

• 
  Government ready to open British markets to chlorinated chicken
• 
  US warns chlorinated chicken must be option in trade deal
• 
  Trump’s ambassador to UK insists chlorine chicken should not be banned

Simon Hoare, a Tory MP who was one of 22 Conservatives who voted against the government to defend UK food standards in future trade deals last month, told The Independent: “If this appalling news is true it’s depressing as it rides a coach and horses through assurances given by ministers to the Commons and what the Tory party manifesto said in December.

“A lot of colleagues did not vote for the amendment because of those government assurances. Ministers are in for a scrap on this one. Public opinion is clear on this issue: they see animal welfare as important.”

Greenpeace UK executive director John Sauven also accused the government of breaking its pledges on the issue.

“Over and over again this government has promised our animal welfare and food standards won’t be used as bargaining chips to wangle a trade deal with the US, yet this is what they are now proposing,” he said.

“The best way to uphold these safeguards is to ban products made by breaching them. Once you allow the principle that it’s OK to sell these controversial products in the UK, you’re effectively sanctioning the poor farming practices that our standards are meant to protect against.”


Ministers are said to be open to giving access to the controversial US food products, that also include hormone-fed beef and crops treated with 82 different pesticides banned in the EU, but applying tariffs on them to protect UK-based farmers from competition.

Under the so-called “dual tariff” system being looked at, American agribusiness would be allowed to sell goods in the UK even if they were not complying with the same production standards as British farmers – as long as they paid the tariff.

Some ministers, such as free-marketer Liz Truss, want to go further, the Daily Telegraph reports – and gradually reduce these tariffs to zero over 10 years, giving farmers time to adjust to the new normal.

“Who’s to guarantee that ministers won’t lower the tariffs later on under pressure from Donald Trump and the US industry lobbies?” said Greenpeace’s Mr Sauven.

Just saying ‘no’ was never an option, and if the reports here are accurate, government discussion has moved on to ‘how’ the UK accommodates the US on this issue, rather than ‘if’
Sam Lowe, trade expert, CER
“We must build a healthier, safer food system that’s good for people, UK farmers and the planet – and this is the opposite of that.”

At the end of January the US secretary of state Mike Pompeo took to the British media to explain that the issue of access for American food producers was important to US interests.

“We need to be open and honest about competitiveness. We need to make sure we don’t use food safety as a ruse to try and protect a particular industry,” he said, ahead of the UK’s change of policy.

The US government also officially considers country-of-origin labelling a barrier to trade, suggesting it is likely to push for such practices to be outlawed in a free trade agreement. This would make it impossible for consumers to tell whether their product had been sourced from the US.

The US Department for Trade says it has “consistently raised concerns” about country of origin labelling at the World Trade Organisation, notably because of “the potential to favour select countries, and the impact on US exports”.

Sam Lowe, a senior fellow at the Centre of European Reform and an expert on international trade, suggested that it was inevitable that the UK would have to give ground on food standards if it wanted a deal with Donald Trump.

“It has always been the case that if the UK is to secure a free trade agreement with the US, it will need to find a way of giving America what it wants when it comes to agriculture and food standards,” he told The Independent.

“Just saying ‘no’ was never an option, and if the reports here are accurate, government discussion has moved on to ‘how’ the UK accommodates the US on this issue, rather than ‘if’.”


US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo warned Britain over the issue in late January ahead of the change in policy (AFP/Getty)
The Liberal Democrats’ trade spokesperson Sarah Only said: “The Conservatives will not stand up to Donald Trump, even if it means sacrificing our own food standards. The prime minister has been forced to go back on his word yet again – and this time the consequences will be on the table for all to see.

“We knew from the trade bill that this Conservative government was determined to be able to make whatever trade deal they like, with whomever they like, with no accountability. Now we know why.

“All of their promises on food standards, environmental protections and the NHS are meaningless without the necessary parliamentary scrutiny to hold them to account.

“The desperation of the Conservative government to get whatever deals they can at whatever cost only further shows how much they have reduced our standing on the world stage.”

A government spokesperson said: “The UK is renowned for its high environmental, food safety and animal welfare standards.

“We have been clear that in all of our trade negotiations – including with the US in our first round of negotiations – that we will not undermine our high domestic environmental protection, animal welfare and food safety standards by ensuring in any agreement British farmers are always able to compete.”

The National Farmers’ Union old a parliamentary inquiry into a US trade deal that “UK producers are happy producing to the high standards they currently produce to and would like to continue to do that”.

The organisation says trade agreements shouldn’t allow the import of food that would be illegal to produce in the UK and that it wants an independent commission set up to review trade agreements.

 

Despite a recent statement from the Government that no change will be made to our food standards following a trade deal with the US - DO WE BELIEVE THEM ??? - I CERTAINLY DON'T !!! This scumbag 'nasty party' government is set on relaxing our food standards to allow the importation of chlorinated chicken and hormone fed beef and as a result is about to relax those food standards, despite the previous promise not to do so - BASTARDS !!!


US trade deal poses greatest threat to food safety since mad cow disease, Britons warned
Which? raises alarm after Boris Johnson dumped promised ban on chlorinated chicken and hormone-fed beef, to strike quickfire agreement with Donald Trump


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A US trade deal poses the greatest risk to food safety since mad cow disease 20 years ago, shoppers are being warned, after Boris Johnson’s U-turn on banning low-quality meat.

The consumer group Which? has raised the alarm after the government dumped its promise to outlaw chlorinated chicken and hormone-fed beef, in search of a quickfire agreement with Donald Trump.

In a letter to the trade secretary, Liz Truss, the organisation says the UK has – since the BSE crisis of the 1990s – “led a food safety revolution” to make it a world leader in protecting the public.

But it warns: “This could all be at risk depending on the approach that the government takes when it begins a second round of trade talks with the US on Monday.

“Which? recognises the benefits of trade and the benefits that could come from a UK-US trade deal – but this cannot be at the expense of our food standards and consumer confidence in what we eat.”


No less than 72 per cent of the British public does not want chlorine-washed chicken and hormone-fed beef to be allowed on sale in the UK, its survey had found.

The protest comes after Downing Street revealed a previous pledge to maintain the ban on those US products had been dropped, as talks on a trade deal with Washington ramp up.

Instead, ministers are pushing a “dual-tariff” regime, which would impose higher levies on good that fail to comply with UK animal welfare standards, arguing that would make US exports uneconomical.

But Which? said it feared a “two-tier system” which would see cheap, lower-quality food made available in schools and NHS canteens for example.

“UK consumers have a legitimate fear that two decades of progress on food safety and animal welfare could be traded away in just two weeks of negotiations with the US,” warned Sue Davies, its head of consumer protection.

The criticism reflects evidence that washing chicken in chlorine – as well as being an animal welfare issue – poses food safety risks because it does not remove bacteria and masks other dangerous practices.

Critics have highlighted the risk of food poisoning from cross-contamination with the deadly bacteria salmonella and campylobacter, because of poor standards when the UK was an EU member.

That ban will be transferred to UK law at the end of the Brexit transition period in December, but Ms Truss has made clear it will be up to MPs whether to then lift it.

The government enjoyed an 80-strong majority and has refused to impose the same food safety standards in the Agriculture Bill currently going through parliament – despite a Tory revolt.

 

Seems I'm not the only one seriously dischuffed at what Boris is planning in relation to food safety !!!


One million sign petition urging law to protect food standards in trade deals

PA
Jun 18th 2020 6:21AM

One million people have signed a petition calling for laws to prevent future trade deals leading to food imports that would be illegal to produce in the UK, farming leaders have said.

The petition, organised by the National Farmers' Union (NFU), comes amid ongoing fears that post-Brexit trade deals could undermine the UK's food, animal welfare and environmental standards.

A wide coalition of organisations from the NFU to conservation groups have warned against allowing imports of food that would be illegal to produce here, with fears that farmers and standards could be undermined by products such as chlorine-washed chicken and hormone-fed beef.

1,000,000 signatures! We're so proud of every single person who has signed our petition, shared it with their friends and family and stood up for: World-leading standards️ Farmers that care about the environment ❤️ Farmers that look after their animals1/2 pic.twitter.com/CfBb5oZhDW

— National Farmers' Union (@NFUtweets) June 17, 2020

Questioned on the issue by the parliamentary Environmental Audit Committee (EAC) on Thursday, Environment Secretary George Eustice insisted that the Government would protect food and welfare standards in trade deals.

He pointed to the Conservatives' 2019 general election manifesto's commitment on the issue.

And he highlighted a recent letter he wrote with International Trade Secretary Liz Truss in which they sought to reassure MPs that existing standards banning the import of chickens washed in chlorine or anything other than water and beef fed with hormones would remain.

Mr Eustice told the EAC: "Our manifesto commitment is very clear about protecting food standards and animal welfare standards through trade deals and there are well-established mechanisms that would enable us to do that."

NFU president Minette Batters said: "The fact that more than one million people have signed a petition urging the Government to put into law rules that prevent food being imported to the UK which is produced in ways that would be illegal here is a clear signal of how passionate the British public feel about this issue.

"It is now clear that it is simply not credible for the Government to continue to just pay lip service to this issue, when there is such public support for action.

"They must now give guarantees to the British people that they have listened to their concerns and will make firm commitments to address them."

Our President @Minette_Batters has said it's now "simply not credible for the government to continue to just pay lip service" to the food standards issue, as our petition surpasses 1 million signatures: NFU food standards petition hits one million signaturespic.twitter.com/oSceLSDrHr

— National Farmers' Union (@NFUtweets) June 18, 2020

The NFU is calling for an independent trade, food and farming commission which reviews trade policy and makes sure that all food imports are held to the some standards expected of British farmers.

Ms Batters said: "Trade policy is complicated, but what the public are telling us is quite simple. They care deeply about their food, where it comes from and how it is produced.

"They do not want to see chlorinated chicken or hormone-fed beef on their supermarket shelves and nor do they want to see food imported which has been produced in lower welfare or environmental systems than is legally allowed in this country."

 

Chlorinated Chicken, how interesting

 

I didn't know Antipodean knuckle dragging gorillas ate chicken, I thought they were vegetarians.

 

US food safety standards are superior to the UK and Europe

 

You type your comment after the end quote tag

 

Most vegetables and Salads in the UK and EU are Chlorinated and there is chlorine in our tap water

 

on food standards !American Vs EU Food Standards - TechRound

The notion that the USA has poor food standards is in truth inaccurate, with the USA’s Food Standards requiring actions to be taken, rather than for example, those of the European Union, which simply require manufacturers to ‘prove they have done their best.’

 

I don't eat 'rabbit food', I prefer the rabbit itself, to casserole !!!

 

You are always "Rabbiting" on is the right answer !

 

I criticise the scumbag 'nasty party' and their acolytes, and the American Republican and hephatrump supporters too. If you don't like you can always do the other thing !!!

 

Ha Ha its good to criticize where its needed ! also I like to point out Hypocrisy when I see it

 

And your evidence of my alleged hypocracy ???

 

Not getting into it With you Because I really cant Be arsed ( and dont wanna play your stupid game ) But its there for everyone to make their own minds up

 

Ha !!! - Makes an accusation and then is unable to substantiate it with evidence - typical 'nasty party' !!!