In one of her first interviews on the food industry, the Defra Secretary of State, Andrea Leadsom, was asked about the likely fate, post Brexit, of the 100,000 EU nationals currently working in the UK food sector -- on farms and in slaughterhouses, processing and packing plants, and catering.
Commentators have expressed the fear that sections of the British food industry would collapse if these workers were told to leave the country. On the other hand, the argument has been made that if food-sector jobs -- which are poorly paid and precarious in comparison to many other industrial sectors -- were improved, more British nationals might apply for them.
Leadsom tried hard to be reassuring in the interview, saying that the Prime Minister's firm intention was to protect the EU nationals working here. But she also had to admit that nothing was yet clear, and all depended on the details of the forthcoming negotiations over the terms of the UK's withdrawal from the EU.
Watch the interview on Foodmanufacture here, and find out more about Sustain's policies and programmes for a greener, fairer food supply here.
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.
