UK to import high-carbon beef and low-welfare pork in trade deals

Published 2023년 3월 9일

Tridge summary

Post-Brexit trade deals with Canada and Mexico, set to include high-carbon beef and low-welfare pork, have raised concerns among UK politicians and animal welfare charities. The deals, which are expected to be reciprocal, have been criticized by the Climate Change Committee and the National Farmers’ Union for potentially undermining the UK's carbon targets and animal welfare standards. The Committee quoted concerns over pork production practices in Canada and the use of growth promoters in Mexico's pork industry. The National Farmers’ Union has warned that the deals could lead to increased beef imports, which could undermine UK livestock farmers. The government has assured that it will not compromise on high food safety and animal welfare standards in the negotiations.

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Original content

Post-Brexit trade deals with Canada and Mexico will include imports of high-carbon beef and low-welfare pork, the Guardian can reveal. There are fears there could be a Conservative party revolt, with the former environment secretary George Eustice raising concerns over low welfare standards for pigs in Canada, and an influential group of Tory MPs and peers gearing up to oppose the deals. The deals also go against the advice of the Climate Change Committee, which wrote to the farming minister, Mark Spencer, after he refused to rule out Mexican beef imports. The committee said the UK’s carbon targets could be “compromised by a decision to allow the importation of meat with a higher carbon footprint than our own”. In Canada there are more than 7,400 pig farms, and animal charities in the country say pigs there face castration, ear notching, tail docking and teeth trimming. Sows are kept for long periods in stalls that do not give them room to turn around, a practice banned in the UK. ...

Source: TheGuardian