Lothian farmers call on public to join Jamie Oliver's campaign to refuse sub-standard food imports to UK as petition nears one million

Farmers and environmental campaigners were left angered last month when Ministers voted down an amendment to the Agriculture Bill which would legally ensure controversial US food products were kept off UK supermarket shelves.

Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver has also backed the campaign and, in a recent video, raised concerns over the possibility of importing chlorinated chicken (carcasses washed in chlorine to kill bacteria), genetically modified food and animals filled with hormones and antibiotics in order for the UK to snap-up quick trade deals.

As of Friday night, more than 950,000 people had signed the National Farmers' Union (NFU) food standards petition to ensure all food eaten in the UK is produced in a way which matches the standards expected of British farmers.

Among those backing the petition is Linlithgow farmer, Jamie Smart, who said: “Supporting locally produced, high quality food is the best way to help save the environment. Allowing poorer quality sub-standard imports may reduce the cost of food in the short term but does nothing to protect the wider environment.

“Importing food from other countries may sometimes be necessary but the first choice should always be locally produced food. If this is not possible, to protect the consumer, any imports must be to at least the same high standards as those produced in Scotland. Failing to do so could undermine animal welfare and food safety and export our climate change responsibilities elsewhere in the world.

“During the Covid outbreak, I have seen many people out enjoying the fantastic farmed environment we have in Scotland. It is now time that these people help protect what is around them by supporting local farms and refusing to accept any imports which do not meet our high standards.”

‘Deeply disappointed’

Ministers had pledged not to undermine animal welfare, environmental and food standards in any negotiations with US negotiators.

But a bid to enshrine this in law was defeated in the House of Commons in May after Prime Minister Boris Johnson 'whipped' MPs - meaning they were ordered - to vote it down, sparking a public backlash.

Jamie Oliver has also written an open letter to Boris Johnson on the subject published in the Mail on Sunday, which has been campaigning to save family farms.

Mr Oliver described his backing of the NFU petition as "probably the most important thing I have ever done."

NFU Scotland President Andrew McCornick, a beef and sheep farmer from Dumfriesshire, said: “We were deeply disappointed when the House of Commons failed to back important amendments to the Agriculture Bill which would have ensured all food consumed in the UK is produced in a way that matches the high welfare, environmental and traceability standards expected of UK farmers. The public dismay at that vote has simply strengthened our resolve as the bill now moves to the House of Lords before returning to the Commons later in the year.

“The very strict controls on farming methods practised in the UK should be the minimum legal requirement placed on all food which is imported here. Our commitment to producing food to the highest standard must not be sold away in a bid to secure any trade deal unless the standards expected by our consumers are guaranteed in any imports."

Mr McCornick said the strength in support of the NFU petition gives politicians a "crystal clear message" on how the nation feels about the "potential pitfalls" of a bad trade deal that fails to support food and farming.

The petition calls on the UK Government to "ensure that all food eaten in the UK – whether in our homes, schools, hospitals, restaurants or from shops – is produced in a way that matches the high standards of production expected of UK farmers."

It can be signed HERE.