A petition in Great Britain calling for the protection of food standards against inferior foreign imports, such as chlorinated chicken and genetically modified grains, reached nearly one million signatures within a few days.
The call from the National Farmers Union gained considerable support after the campaign was endorsed by the famous chef Jamie Oliver. The petition urges the government to ‘ensure that all food eaten in the UK is produced in a way that meets the high production standards expected of British farmers’.
The Save Our Family Farms campaign is mainly aimed against the plan to allow the import of chlorinated chicken and genetically modified grains from the United States after all. This is currently prohibited, but as the British leave the EU, they will soon be able to decide on this themselves. Johnson’s government is currently negotiating both with the US about a full free trade agreement and with the EU about customs regulations post-Brexit.
During the Brexit campaign, Prime Minister Johnson promised that no inferior food would enter the country. This week it was revealed that Downing Street is partially backing down on those demands. Now only ‘clean’ food imports will be subject to zero tariffs. Other products will face import duties, meaning that according to critics, chlorinated chicken will ultimately still enter the country.
The term ‘chlorinated chicken’ refers to the practice where chicks are disinfected at slaughter using chlorine wash and chlorinated rinse water to kill pathogens. Although it is a hygiene measure, it is banned in EU countries. The British Poultry Council also criticizes the possible compromise on food safety. They say that a two-tier tariff system does not promote British food but rather American trade.
British politicians remain concerned about the dual issue of food safety standards and British farmers. In the American meat industry, it is also permitted to use chemical growth hormones. The Farmers Union believes that Downing Street should protect the domestic British agricultural industry, but hardline Brexiteers within government circles advocate for full free trade. Many Conservatives consider criteria for biodiversity, environment, and food safety as ‘EU nonsense’ they were keen to move away from.