Politics

Trade Secretary Liz Truss has announced the Government will set up a Trade and Agriculture Commission to explore ways to protect food production standards, just three weeks after Farming Minister Victoria Prentis rejected the

With more than one million people backing food standards by signing the NFU petition to protect them in law, we may yet force the Government’s hand on this issue, says Tim Farron, agriculture spokesman for the Liberal Democrats.

In Scotland, as in the rest of the UK, the Tories are preparing to sacrifice farmers on the Brexit altar by trying to prevent the Scottish Government from maintaining EU standards, says John Finnie, Green MSP for the Highlands and Islands.

I have absolutely no objection to high animal welfare standards, but selling them as a magical business opportunity for UK farmers after Brexit is beyond laughable, says Norman Bagley, head of policy at the Association of Independent Meat Suppliers (AIMS).

Waitrose has vowed never to sell any food which does not meet the UK’s high standards, branding any regression in future trade deals a ‘backwards step’.

The UK Government and devolved administrations have launched a consultation on unfair practices in the dairy sector.

The Environment Agency (EA) is considering a system of environmental permits for the dairy and beef sectors to clamp down on pollution incidents.

Exports Minister Graham Stuart and Farming Minister Victoria Prentis explain how they plan to boost overseas sales of UK food and drink.

Farming Minister Victoria Prentis has told the NFU she is ‘thinking long and hard’ about establishing a Trade and Standards Commission, just two weeks after publicly rejecting the idea at Cereals.

The fight for a Commission to explore ways to protect food production standards in trade policy is continuing in the House of Lords, with a new Agriculture Bill amendment tabled to force the Government’s hand.