NFU petition to protect UK food standards on course to hit a million signatures

The NFU’s online petition urging the Government to protect the UK’s food standards in any future trade deals is on course to hit one million signatures.
There is nothing presently in law to safeguard British food standards in future trade deals.There is nothing presently in law to safeguard British food standards in future trade deals.
There is nothing presently in law to safeguard British food standards in future trade deals.

So far the petition, which states it wants to ensure that all food eaten in the UK is produced in a way that matches the high standards of production expected of UK farmers, has amassed more than 800,000 signatories.

The issue of safeguarding UK food standards has been highlighted by the NFU and other organisations since the re-introduction of the Agriculture Bill.

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They are concerned that without measures in place the market could be flooded with cheap imported food produced to lower standards, some of which would be illegal in the UK. There are also fears that British farmers may be priced out of the market.

An amendment to protect UK food standards was voted down during the third reading of the Bill in the House of Commons and it has now passed on to the House of Lords.

Last week celebrity chef and food campaigner, Jamie Oliver, backed farmers through an open letter to the Prime Minister urging him to put measures in place to protect the food supply chain.

Mr Oliver said without safeguards the Government would be “opening the floodgates to food which would be illegal here”.

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He told the Prime Minister: “It is in your power to map out an intelligent structure where we maintain Britain’s high standards but also retain the ability to strike trade deals that are good for the economy.”

The petition can be found on the NFU website at nfuonline.com.