Stand up for British farmers
When it comes to agriculture I am at a loss in terms of understanding the political objectives.
Radical legislation is currently going through Parliament which sets the future structure for domestic agriculture for the first time since 1947. However, this bill has barely registered in public debate. It offers no protection against substandard imports which would mean that things like chlorinated chicken and hormone-filled beef could land on our shores and fill the supermarket shelves.
In the UK, animal welfare is prominent on the consumer and political agenda – or so we thought! It has an impact on every aspect of the food supply chain, foot trimming being no exception.
At every level farmers, processors and retailers alike are continually embracing innovation and technology to ensure efficiency, productivity and our world class animal welfare standards are maintained and improved, while trying to deliver food more cheaply to meet consumer demands.
So why is this Agriculture Bill not supporting everything our British farmers have worked so hard to achieve? We need politics and consumers to stand up for British farmers – since coronavirus they have been working hard to feed the nation and this is how they are going to be repaid!
Nick Challenor is the owner of ND Challenor Professional Livestock Services.
