Selby Green Party is calling on Nigel Adams, MP for Selby & Ainsty, to support the Lords’ amendment to the Agriculture Bill. The debate will take place in the House of Commons on Monday 12 October.
Over one million people signed the NFU petition asking the government to ensure future trade deals do not lead to an increase in food imports that would be illegal to produce here.
Arnold Warneken who has farmed at Goosemoor Organics in Cowthorpe for over 30 years says “It is vital for the future of our Yorkshire farmers that Nigel Adams votes to support our high standards for food, animal welfare & environmental protection. If the Agriculture Bill is passed without this crucial amendment, then the US will be able to offload poor quality food, from animals raised in poor conditions, into the UK market.
Alex Marsh, also from Cowthorpe, added “US farms use five times more antibiotics per animal than in the UK. This overuse is fuelling the rise in antibiotic resistance, which has grave risks for human health. The US also views nutrition labelling as a barrier to trade, and so shoppers in the UK could end up consuming meat without realising it is chlorinated or pumped with hormones, particularly when eating out”.
Arnold continues “We urge Nigel Adams to honour his party’s manifesto pledge to maintain the high food standards for which Britain is renowned, and not allow post-Brexit Britain to toe Trump’s line”.
From left to right: Lorraine Meehan, Gordon Schallmo, Arnold Warneken, Alex Marsh, and Tom Bellerby outside Goosemoor Organics in Cowthorpe, with a Yorkshire flag and Save British Farming posters, including a large poster asking Nigel Adams to ‘back our farmers and food standards’.