Farmer and environmental advocate, Joe Stanley talks about the importance of protecting food standards

Our warm and comforting culinary traditions go back generations; from Sunday roasts to cottage pies; Yorkshire puddings to Wensleydale cheese; our country (and the great county of Yorkshire, an agricultural powerhouse within Britain) produces high-quality ingredients and dishes which are the envy of the world.

As a third-generation beef and arable farmer myself, I am proud to produce your food to the highest standards of safety, traceability, welfare, and environmental protection.

But what about the prospect of a Sunday roast complete with hormone treated American beef? Or Yorkshire puds made from flour treated with pesticides it would be illegal to use in the UK? This is what is at stake in the Agriculture Bill vote on Monday.

The Bill, setting out the future of UK farming post-Brexit, has made its way through the House of Lords, where cross-party peers added an amendment that would ensure that traditional British family farms and our world-leading food standards are safeguarded in future international trade negotiations – a Conservative manifesto promise.

Government has stated it means to defeat this amendment – as it has all others before it – in order to leave the door open to selling our British food standards – your food standards – to the lowest bidder.

Poor trade deals with countries such as the USA and Australia would lead to poor quality food entering our homes and restaurants, hospitals and schools. Many foreign practices are banned in the UK because evidence suggests they pose serious human health concerns.

According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 14.7 per cent of Americans fall sick due to food related illnesses each year – compared to only 1.5 per cent of Britons as estimated by the Food Standards Agency.

But food standards are about so much more. In Britain we produce some of the most environmentally sustainable food in a world where we simply must act more sustainably.

The greenhouse emissions footprint of a Yorkshire beef joint is 2.5 times lower than the global average, while the average Yorkshire beef farmer will use up to nine times less antibiotics than their American counterpart, using them to treat illness rather than boost growth.

On welfare, the UK is one of only three nations to hold the gold standard, while the foreign ‘horsemeat’ scandal of 2013 showed the importance of the traceability of which we excel. It is vital MPs support the Lord Grantchester and Curry amendment to the Agriculture Bill.

To ensure that the food with which we feed our children is nothing but the best. To defend our British values, not sell them out for the dregs of the global food system.

Now is the time to tell your local MP that you support British farming, and they should too. You can do this by visiting Sustain: The Alliance for Better Food and Farming’s website and use their online tool to contact your local MP.

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Thank you

James Mitchinson