National News The Brexit Thread 🇬🇧🇪🇺

[Marked Ox]

Most, if not all fresh beef,pork and chicken sold in the major UK supermarkets is 100% British.
That won’t change.

The risk comes with future trade deals if we give in on farming standards with Australia.. For example the US will push likewise for such concessions and the standards drop again.

Iirc, the US food lobby were also talking about pushing for reduced labelling requirements so that knowing the origin of the meat by the packaging wouldn't be clear.

 

[bashamwonderland]

@QR thinks the labelling is a lie! So you are already eating non-British meat and veg

Ah yes I love a good conspiracy theory.

 

[QR]

@QR thinks the labelling is a lie! So you are already eating non-British meat and veg

You're getting confused. YOU said the labelling is a lie.

 

[Northstandboy]

You're getting confused. YOU said the labelling is a lie.

The image you posted, I said was an ERROR by Tesco, you then replied " Of course."

 

[QR]

The image you posted, I said was an ERROR by Tesco, you then replied " Of course."

So I didn't say the labelling was a lie as you have falsely claimed I said.

 

[Northstandboy]

So I didn't say the labelling was a lie as you have falsely claimed I said.

well your "thinking face" emoji says otherwise..

 

[QR]

Did he say George Useless?

https://twitter.com/x/status/1404879749927915525

 

[Carpy]

The risk comes with future trade deals if we give in on farming standards with Australia.. For example the US will push likewise for such concessions and the standards drop again.

Iirc, the US food lobby were also talking about pushing for reduced labelling requirements so that knowing the origin of the meat by the packaging wouldn't be clear.

At the end of the day, the market will be driven by consumer demand, and if we all want to eat British produce, which I suspect is likely for the vast majority of people, then that is what will be stocked, and that is what we can all buy

I, unlike you it seems, have faith that the British consumer will continue to buy British to support farmers and reduce their carbon footprint, all while getting a superior product

 

[Marked Ox]

At the end of the day, the market will be driven by consumer demand, and if we all want to eat British produce, which I suspect is likely for the vast majority of people, then that is what will be stocked, and that is what we can all buy

I, unlike you it seems, have faith that the British consumer will continue to buy British to support farmers and reduce their carbon footprint, all while getting a superior product

That is assuming the Govt doesn't cave on labelling requirements which could make that very difficult to follow. Also, doesn't cover ready meals/takeaways etc which won't be known.

 

[ZeroTheHero]

At the end of the day, the market will be driven by consumer demand, and if we all want to eat British produce, which I suspect is likely for the vast majority of people, then that is what will be stocked, and that is what we can all buy

I, unlike you it seems, have faith that the British consumer will continue to buy British to support farmers and reduce their carbon footprint, all while getting a superior product

But if food standards were legislated on the basis that people would vote with their wallets and only buy decent stuff, there would be no food standards required. And of course, the truth is that the poorest people will be very tempted to buy the cheapest product. And then of course, the British producers will protest that their product is more expensive because they have to abide by standards that these imports do not - the next step will be the relaxation of those standards for British producers as well. And we all lose.

And how on earth will anyone eating pre-prepared food know exactly *what* they are eating?

 

[LowerSouth]

Not yet they don't. (the point of this discussion if you haven't been following the postings above)

There are already plenty of cheaper options, but some 8 years ago,lead by one or two supermarkets and consumer pressure, all groups have followed suit and are 100% British, for beef,pork & chicken.

 

[Carpy]

But if food standards were legislated on the basis that people would vote with their wallets and only buy decent stuff, there would be no food standards required. And of course, the truth is that the poorest people will be very tempted to buy the cheapest product. And then of course, the British producers will protest that their product is more expensive because they have to abide by standards that these imports do not - the next step will be the relaxation of those standards for British producers as well. And we all lose.

And how on earth will anyone eating pre-prepared food know exactly *what* they are eating?

What is currently against any food regulations are not changing with the introduction of a trade deal, so I'm sorry, this argument doesn't hold water. If things are found to have serious health implications, then I am 100% certain the govt would legislate accordingly, if they don't, I have no doubt they will be held to account on that.

 

[QR]

What is currently against any food regulations are not changing with the introduction of a trade deal, so I'm sorry, this argument doesn't hold water. If things are found to have serious health implications, then I am 100% certain the govt would legislate accordingly, if they don't, I have no doubt they will be held to account on that.

It seems the confusion has arisen because no one has seen the actual deal in order to satisfy themselves either way. People are reacting to what is coming out of Australia.

It's ironic that if this has been a trade deal between Australia and the EU all counties would have been able to scrutinise it and vote on it. But here it doesn't even go to parliament. So much for sovereignty eh!

 

[carefreeoufc]

I said good luck, not you won’t be able to get it. There will always be premium priced British produced products even after we sell out our farmers for trade deals.

I’ll admit I’m only going on the farms and farmers I know that are struggling to meet quota and contractual requirements having lost staff as opposed to what’s on the supermarket shelves at present.

Anyway we’ll see what happens and if I’m wrong I’ll gladly admit it. I’d expect we’ll see a gradual reduction in the next year or two, just like we’ve seen a gradual increase in non seasonal produce from outside the U.K. over the years.

So we've been out for 6 months now - I went to the supermarket (Sainsburys) over the weekend and managed to find British meat and veg. I didn't look for British milk, but I imagine I probably would have found it quite easily.

Can you tell me when I won't be able to find local British produce please? I just want a date in my head, because you know its been 6 months and no problems so far...

 

[Carpy]

It seems the confusion has arisen because no one has seen the actual deal in order to satisfy themselves either way. People are reacting to what is coming out of Australia.

It's ironic that if this has been a trade deal between Australia and the EU all counties would have been able to scrutinise it and vote on it. But here it doesn't even go to parliament. So much for sovereignty eh!

You're jumping the gun though, it's an agreement in principle, it will go to Parliament and it will be scrutinised, it has to before it can go ahead officially, it's just two leaders agreeing the outline of the deal can go ahead as proposed.

You talk about the EU as some sort of bastion of democracy but you only have to go back to the Brexit agreement itself to see where the EU agreed it before the EU Parliament (the actual people that were democratically elected) had even seen it, when they did, it was nothing more than a rubber stamp on a deal that was already running.

 

[QR]

You're jumping the gun though, it's an agreement in principle, it will go to Parliament and it will be scrutinised, it has to before it can go ahead officially, it's just two leaders agreeing the outline of the deal can go ahead as proposed.

You talk about the EU as some sort of bastion of democracy but you only have to go back to the Brexit agreement itself to see where the EU agreed it before the EU Parliament (the actual people that were democratically elected) had even seen it, when they did, it was nothing more than a rubber stamp on a deal that was already running.

If it does then good, but at least have the decency to share it with MPs and major stakeholders (e.g the NFU) before you start doing the media rounds singing its praise, whilst evading very specific, critical questions. It makes people think they have something to hide.

Or maybe they don't know what's in it like the Northern Ireland protocol.

 

[Carpy]

If it does then good, but at least have the decency to share it with MPs and major stakeholders (e.g the NTU) before you start doing the media rounds singing its praise, whilst evading very specific, critical questions. It makes people think they have something to hide.

Or maybe they don't know what's in it like the Northern Ireland protocol.

I think it fairly normal for a government of any colour to try and drip feed certains bits of information and sings its praises in the press, they are marketing it at the end of the day. If it was a Labour government, up to this point, very little would have been done differently in my opinion

 

[QR]

You're jumping the gun though, it's an agreement in principle, it will go to Parliament and it will be scrutinised, it has to before it can go ahead officially, it's just two leaders agreeing the outline of the deal can go ahead as proposed

Are you sure of your facts? According to the FT.

Under UK law, trade deals are signed before parliament has the chance to debate their contents, leading trade groups and MPs to warn that the government risks setting precedents for future trade policy without proper debate.

 

[ZeroTheHero]

What is currently against any food regulations are not changing with the introduction of a trade deal, so I'm sorry, this argument doesn't hold water. If things are found to have serious health implications, then I am 100% certain the govt would legislate accordingly, if they don't, I have no doubt they will be held to account on that.

Australia has very different (much less strict) regulations on food production and animal welfare than the UK. So if Australian produce is imported into this country some of the food available to buy on the shelves of out supermarkets will not have been produced to our standards. So de facto the food regulations will have changed. *Unless* of course the UK Government insists that all Australian imports *do* conform to our standards. I may be cynical but...

You can't import any old shite and wait to see if there are serious health issues!

 

[Carpy]

Are you sure of your facts? According to the FT.

Under UK law, trade deals are signed before parliament has the chance to debate their contents, leading trade groups and MPs to warn that the government risks setting precedents for future trade policy without proper debate.

And that is correct, I misspoke, having said that, those trade deals must adhere to any existing rules on food standards etc, if those food standards are enshrined in law, then any subsequent changes to support the trade deal would require legislation going through parliament. Regardless, much of that is irrelevant, because the current government possesses a significant majority

I may be cynical but...

You're being very cynical, having a trade deal doesn't mean food regulations don't apply to whatever it is you're importing.