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The Rt Hon Owen Paterson MP

MP for North Shropshire

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Agriculture Bill: Animal Welfare and Food Safety

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I made my views clear in an article published in the Farmers Guardian copied below.  I voted against all amendments and supported the Bill.

 

*Free trade is a huge opportunity which UK agriculture must seize*

The Agriculture Bill returning to Parliament this week is an important step in the UK’s departure from the EU, setting out the route to a new, more tailored system of agricultural support, as well as providing the basis for UK farmers to embrace the latest technology.

The Bill must also ensure that this approach goes hand-in-hand with expanding global free trade. Too often, the debate about trade in agriculture is parsed only in terms of “protecting” domestic farmers from international competition. We must recognise both that UK farmers already depend upon trade, and what enormous opportunities expanded markets represent. With the freedom to use cutting-edge techniques, British farmers can produce more food at world prices. They can compete at home and abroad.

The UK already exports over £23.9bn of high-quality food and drink. But British farmers now have the chance not only to sell more of the products that they already sell, but also to sell products which they currently do not.

British consumers, for instance, tend to eat only certain parts of an animal. Other parts must either be disposed of (at a cost to the farmer) or, at best, attract very low prices. In many cases, they are, however, prized as delicacies elsewhere. Better access to those markets will, therefore, provide an opportunity for meat producers to sell more meat per carcass, receive the very best price for every part of their animals, make the UK industry more competitive and reduce prices for consumers.

As a foretaste of the potential benefits of new deals, the US lifted its ban on UK beef exports in March, creating £66m worth of export opportunities for beef farmers over the next five years. Similarly, the US is behind only China as the largest importer of sheepmeat in the world; I have seen first-hand their palpable demand for Welsh lamb. Indeed, the DIT’s analysis has shown that a full UK-US trade deal will deliver significant economic gains for farming in every region of the UK, with a £4m - £36m boost for the semi-processed foods sector including meat and dairy, and up to an £87m gain for the processed food sector.

Protectionist opponents of such a deal must recognise that there is a fair basis to compete. US prices in beef are comparable to those in the UK and EU. All animal products imported into the UK under existing or future free trade agreements will still have to meet the UK’s stringent food safety standards along with those of the OIE and the WTO. Imported meat will need to meet requirements on the welfare of animals at slaughter.

Free trade is a huge opportunity which UK agriculture must seize. The Agriculture Bill must facilitate that, and resist calls for narrow-minded protectionism which could squander a once-in-a-generation chance.

https://www.fginsight.com/blogs/free-trade-is-a-huge-opportunity-which-uk-agriculture-must-seize-108479

Campaign Responses

  • Human Rights in Tibet 01/04/21
  • Nuclear Weapons 31/03/21
  • Access to Pension Credit 16/03/21
  • Animal research and Early Day Motion 256
  • Animal welfare and farrowing crates 16/03/21
  • Antisemitism and UK universities 16/03/21
  • Conversion therapy 23/03/21
  • Legacy benefits and support during the pandemic 16/03/21
  • Marine ecology 24/03/21
  • Misogyny and the safety of women and girls 24/03/21
  • Persecution of Christian women around the world 16/03/21
  • The UK protecting biodiversity 24/03/21
  • Women's rights organisations overseas 16/03/21
  • Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill 16/03/21
  • The Murder of Sarah Everard 16/03/21
  • Asylum accommodation 22/02/2021
  • Climate and Ecological Emergency Bill 22/02/2021
  • Dementia and Coronavirus 08/02/21
  • Neonicotinoids 05/02/21
  • FFP3 Masks 02/02/21
  • Trade Deals 19/1/21
  • CAMRA Save Our Pubs Campaign
  • Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffee and Anoosheh Ashoori
  • Coronavirus: Closed Churches
  • Planning Reform
  • British Heart Foundation and Medical Research Charities
  • Free School Meals 27/10/2020
  • Immigration Bill: Family Reunion
  • Women and Equal Pay
  • MPs' Pay
  • Shelter's 'Building Our Way Out' Report
  • Immigration Detention Time Limit
  • Coronavirus: Maternity Care
  • 'Fire and Rehire' Tactics
  • Agriculture Bill: Animal Welfare and Trade
  • Breast Cancer
  • Coronavirus: Disabled Welfare
  • EU Negotiations
  • Coronavirus: Household Debt
  • Asylum Seekers Support and Employment
  • NHS Pay Rise
  • Global Wildlife Trade Ban
  • Protecting Girls in Crisis
  • Extension of Covid-19 Support Schemes
  • Fuel Duty
  • Medical Cannabis: Epilepsy
  • Proportional Property Tax Proposal
  • Israel: Peace Agreements
  • Coronavirus: Public Test and Trace
  • Air Quality
  • Pet Microchipping
  • Green Recovery
  • Pancreatic Cancer's No Time to Wait Campaign
  • Children's Health
  • Overseas Operations Bill
  • Asylum Support Payments
  • Internal Market Bill
  • Coronavirus: Vulnerable Christians
  • Wellbeing and Counselling in Schools
  • Disposable BBQs
  • Domestic Abuse Bill
  • Coronavirus: Ovarian Cancer
  • General Practice
  • Humanist Marriages
  • Adult Social Care
  • Sustainable Fishing - Super Trawlers
  • Coronavirus: Mental Health
  • Arthritis
  • Investor-State Dispute Settlement Mechanisms
  • Eco-Friendly Education Buildings
  • Legal Aid
  • Wildlife Licensing
  • Trade Deals
  • Persecution of Christians
  • Coronavirus: Travel Industry
  • Heat Pumps
  • Yemen
  • Low Income Countries: Debt Cancellation
  • EDM 529
  • Rough Sleeping
  • Coronavirus: Performing Arts
  • Black Curriculum
  • Coronavirus: Clinically Vulnerable Returning to Work
  • British Food Production Standards
  • FCO and DfID Merger
  • Mental Health: Face to Face Assessments
  • Coronavirus: Government backing for business
  • George Floyd, Black Lives Matter and export controls
  • Immigration Bill
  • Radiotherapy Services
  • PPE: Health and Social Care
  • Road Speed Limits
  • Fur Free Britain Campaign
  • Coronavirus: Asylum Support Payments
  • Israel the West Bank
  • 'No Recourse to Public Funds' Campaign
  • Trade Bill - US Free Trade Agreement
  • Illegal Wildlife Trade - EDM139
  • Trophy Hunting - EDM50
  • Environment Bill: OEP
  • Coronavirus: Free School Meals
  • Coronavirus: Trussell Trust's Proposed Emergency Income Support Scheme
  • Coronavirus: Abortion
  • Coronavirus: Childcare and Childminders
  • Environment Bill: Air Quality
  • Windrush Report
  • Universities and Antisemitism
  • Immigration Points System
  • EDM57 - Regulation of Social Networks
  • Coronavirus: Motor Nurone Disease
  • Horseracing: use of the whip
  • EDM 291 - Ban on war experiments on animals
  • Coronavirus: Iran Sanctions
  • Dementia Care
  • Agriculture Bill: Animal Welfare and Food Safety
  • Northern Ireland Abortion Framework
  • Animal Cruelty Sentencing
  • Gamebird Welfare
  • My letter to constituents regarding Government financial support for airlines
  • Voter ID
  • Brexit update 10th October 2019
  • 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration
  • Adults with eating disorders
  • Cycling and Walking
  • TV licence for over-75s
  • "People's Vote"
  • Arms to Saudi Arabia
  • Tax Cuts
  • Affordable Housing
  • Earthquakes and Fracking
  • Probate Fees
  • My letter to Constituents regarding the suspension of Parliament
  • Consumer Credit and "rip off loans"
  • Trafficked children
  • Trophy Hunting
  • Immigration Bill and the NHS
  • NHS Long Term Plan
  • Puppy Smuggling
  • Assisted Dying event 11th December
  • Caging of pheasants and partridges
  • Beer Duty
  • Sex-selective abortion
  • Dying at Home
  • Rohingya Children
  • Footpaths
  • BBC impartiality
  • Defend Israel
  • Ban Al Quds and Hezbollah
  • Stand Up for Nature
  • Communities vs Blood Cancer
  • Homelessness
  • Horses on the road
  • Horse tethering
  • Fracking
  • Offensive Weapons Bill and shop workers
  • Royal Commission on Policing
  • FIxed Odds Betting Terminals
  • DVLA and diabetes monitoring technology
  • Future trade deals
  • Housing Regulator
  • Stop Christophobia campaign 21/05/19
  • The Abuse of Children and Civilians by Hamas
  • Live Exports
  • Cost of Medicines
  • Plastic pollution in UK rivers
  • Eating disorders
  • Forced abortion
  • Cancer Treatment - Coronavirus

Owen Paterson MP MP for North Shropshire

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