Scottish and UK Ministers have locked horns in a bitter battle over the future protection of food standards.

The Wildlife Trusts has called on the Government to introduce a pesticide reduction target which cuts overall use by at least 50 per cent over the next 10 years.

Only 3 per cent of farmers trust the Government to invest enough money in nature-friendly farming after the coronavirus pandemic, new research has shown.

Industry leaders have reacted angrily to comments from the new Trade and Agriculture Commission chairman, who called for an end to the ‘alarmism’ around chlorinated chicken and hormone-treated beef on his first day in post.

UK farmers do not need a comprehensive trade deal with the US to capitalise on American opportunities, NFU international trade director Nick von Westenholz has said.

Small abattoirs are being failed by a lack of joined-up thinking from different Government bodies, Emily Miles, chief executive of the Food Standards Agency (FSA), has said.

The Government has announced who will sit on the Trade and Agriculture Commission, with all farming unions across the UK represented.

The poorest households in the UK are the least likely to want low standard food to be available as a result of new trade deals, research by Which? has found.

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) ‘stands ready’ to assess the safety risk of chlorinated chicken and hormone-treated beef, its chief executive Emily Miles has said.

Farm groups concerned about the Government’s ‘lacklustre’ proposals for its new Environmental Land Management (ELM) scheme have joined forces to help design something ‘fit for purpose’.