Fury as government waters down post-Brexit food standards
Animal welfare campaigners, food policy experts and farmers have reacted with fury after the government watered down post-Brexit trade deal standards in its food strategy, released on Monday.
In a version of the strategy leaked to the Guardian on Friday, the government committed to making it easier for countries to import goods if they have high animal welfare standards.
The draft reads: “We will seek animal welfare-linked liberalisation in our [free trade agreements], allowing us to offer more generous liberalisation for products certified as meeting certain key animal welfare criteria specified in the agreement.”
But the final version is stripped of this and merely commits to “considering” animal welfare and the environment when it comes to free trade agreements.
Caroline Lucas, Green MP for Brighton said: “This looks like yet another shamefully squandered opportunity to cement stringent animal welfare protection into our free trade agreements.
“We need a full explanation from government as to why this element was removed, and on whose demands.”
The government’s white paper, billed as the first such strategy in 75 years, rejected most of the food tsar Henry Dimbleby’s ambitious policies, which he outlined in a report released last year.
Dimbleby made a number of high-profile suggestions, including a significant expansion to free school meals, greater environment and welfare standards in farming, and a 30% reduction in meat and dairy consumption. None of these have made it into the final strategy.
Rob Percival, head of food policy at the Soil Association, said: “It’s notable that the approach to trade in the final strategy appears to be different to the approach outlined in the draft which was leaked to the Guardian on Friday.
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Read more on theguardian.com
