Beef from cattle implanted with growth hormones, chlorine-washed chicken, and unlabelled genetically modified foods are among the undesirable outcomes that could result from a lax trade deal with the US, warns a veteran campaigner.
As UK and US officials prepare the ground for a far-reaching trade deal between the two nations, food campaigners are concerned that hard-won UK standards could be sacrificed, to the detriment of consumers and farmers in this country.
The journalist and campaigner Joanna Blythman spells out the risks in a trenchant article in The Observer. In the US, for example, dozens of pesticides are in use that are banned in the EU, GM ingredients are ubiquitous and need not be labelled, food additives are used more extensively, and the use of heavily chlorinated water to 'wash' animal carcasses is permitted. The article also reports that US meat and grain corporations are opposed to regulations that prevent the use of abattoir offcuts in animal feedstuffs -- a practice banned here after it was linked to the outbreak of BSE.
Read the full article here.See Sustain's response to the Government's White Paper on Brexit and the risk to food and farming standards.
Sustain campaigns for a greener, fairer, healthier food system. Read more about our work here.
Published Friday 3 February 2017
Sustain: Sustain The alliance for better food and farming advocates food and agriculture policies and practices that enhance the health and welfare of people and animals, improve the working and living environment, enrich society and culture and promote equity.
