First they'll give us the chicken...

[SirGalahad]

With regard to chicken; there are 2500 factory-farm broiler houses for chickens in the UK, producing nearly 900m birds per year. 90% of UK birds are reared at a density of 19 birds per sq m, hardly any different to US standards. The sheds are artificially-lit, and the chickens spend no time out doors. They are slaughtered with no requirement to pre-stun. The only difference is that US chicken is washed in lactic acid.
Don't let's kid ourselves it's about animal welfare - it's not. It's about protectionism for UK/EU farmers to maintain higher prices for UK consumers.

Using your logic that tariffs and regulations are bad - then why are we negotiating a FTA with the EU and US. Why don't we drop all our tariffs to zero and regulations so that anything goes.

Brexit the sunlit uplands indeed.

 

[SirGalahad]

Non-tariff barriers are a larger hurdle boyo.

The irony of Brexiteers who moan about the UK being a first world country always want third world regulations.

I want the UK to have the highest standards from MPs down to water. We can lead the world on green issues, regulation etc but until Breixteers stop sucking on the teat of second hand nostalgia of our empire we will be hamstrung having to drag these boneheads kicking and screaming behind us.

 

[noseall]

.

 

[noseall]

Breixteers stop sucking on the teat of second hand nostalgia of our empire we will be hamstrung having to drag these boneheads kicking and screaming behind us.

Mad nostalgic brexer….

complaint received about posts evading the autocensor

 

[SirGalahad]

what these bonehead brexxers and RWR forget is that I don't want to go shopping and have to read the back of every packet and product label to see what goes into the product - it puts a cost onto me. Having strong regulations and standards means I don't waste time trying to work out whether any goods I buy are free from harmful ingredients.

Third world countries with their non existent or poor labelling standards and regulations have a multitude of problems - why does anyone think that's what we should aim for.

Cutting regulation and standards captures the attention of these mad hatters.

 

[Notch7]

hardly any different to US standards.

Tony that is actually incorrect, you are incorrect in claiming that this is about protectionism rather than welfare standards. I appreciate you feel the EU is protectionist, but it is a more complex nuanced situation.

I don't think that the sometimes hysterical media reporting of US food standards is helpful, we need to put science above politics.
In the EU there are some food additives which are banned in other countries as they are deemed unsafe.

on chickens:

Welfare
EU: legislation (Council Directive 98/58) sets out general rules for the protection of animals on the farm, including poultry.
USA: In the USA, there are currently no federal regulations to control or safeguard the welfare of animals used in agriculture

Health
EU: framework of legislation on Salmonella has targeted a reduction in the incidence of Salmonella Enteritidis and Salmonella Typhimurium in broilers, breeders and turkeys.
USA: In the USA, there is no industry-wide legislation on Salmonella but a strong and long-established voluntary program is in place

Environmental
EU: all poultry farms which exceed a threshold size of 40,000 bird places are required through legislation to hold an environmental permit (Directive 2010/75)
USA: In the USA, legislation (in the form of the Clean Air Act) requires all farms with over 125,000 broilers to have an environmental permit.

conclusion:
• The EU has a stated objective of recognising animals as sentient beings and of paying full regard to animal welfare requirements. The USA does not have anything equivalent to this.
• The concept of the ‘precautionary principle’ is stated and used in the EU but not in the USA. In the EU, it provides a basis for regulatory control and it establishes an approach whereby policies or actions which may cause harm are not pursued.
• In respect of food safety, the EU adopts a ‘farm-to-fork’ approach with measures being set out in legislation throughout the supply chain, starting with the farm. This supply chain approach is less apparent in the USA

full report here:
https://www.britishpoultry.org.uk/i...ploads/2018/05/2016-ADAS-EU-US-comparison.pdf

The underlying reason the UK is pursuing a USA deal is because this government and its donors stand to make money from US business, especially in healthcare and agriculture.
There is a reason why the govt has Matthew Elliott as top advisor.

I dont want to see the NHS and UK farmers both be ruined because a few Tory ministers made some lobby money out of a few deals -and Im sure no brexiteers would either if they looked at the situation objectively.

Please lets not sell the UK to the cheapest bidder, this is a great conntry dont let this Tory coup wreck it

 

[fillyboy]

Third world countries with their non existent or poor labelling standards and regulations have a multitude of problems - why does anyone think that's what we should aim for.

Cutting regulation and standards captures the attention of these mad hatters.

Agreed, I can remember when travelling to Europe the advice was not to drink the water, and if you plug the kettle in to boil it, make sure you're wearing rubber gloves.