Save British Food
Gove: “As we leave the EU we will deliver a Green Brexit, not only maintaining but enhancing animal welfare standards.” Last night he voted against this clause to be included in the new Agriculture Bill. This means lower food standards for us all, and British farming being decimated. Write to your MP about this. If you’ve already written, then write again.
Rachel and John’s dairy farm is under threat from the new Agriculture Bill which is set to lower standards on food imports and undercut British farmers who won’t be able to compete. We need the current food, animal welfare and environmental standards written into the new law.
Please write to your MP asking them to back an amendment that keeps our current world-beating standards.
On an overcast day in early July, drivers in central London found themselves in a situation that’s familiar to anyone used to rural living: getting stuck behind a slow-moving tractor. Except in this case, it was many tractors, plus a cavalcade of other vehicles including a group of animal rights activists dressed as fruit and vegetables.
How did this come about? Volunteer activists, including Celebrity Masterchef-winner Emma Kennedy, concerned about British food standards and the impact of cheap food imports on British farming and food production, invited selected farmers to drive their tractors and cars on a socially-distanced drive-slow demonstration around Parliament Square.
So, on Wednesday 8th July 2020, the tractorcade gathered at New Covent Garden Market, Vauxhall and set off just after 1pm. They slowly criss-crossed Vauxhall, Lambeth and Westminster Bridges before circling up to Trafalgar Square and back down Whitehall into Parliament Square for a finale of three loops in front of Palace of Westminster where a large crowd and a veritable posse of press photographers had gathered to cheer this unusual sight on.
Save British Farming organised the demo to launch our summer campaign. We believe the Government is betraying voters and the British public by reneging on its manifesto pledge to uphold our world beating British food and animal welfare standards. They want to pass an Agriculture Bill that will ditch UK animal welfare and environmental standards for farm imports, flood the market with low-quality food and destroy Britain’s world-class farming industry.
We must save our farms and our British food industry. We must protect and promote our high-standards of food safety and sustainability – not allow sub-standard imports that will threaten the nation’s health, the survival of family farms countrywide and rural economies.
Wiltshire farmer and event organiser, Liz Webster, commented, “The Agriculture Bill is disastrous for British farming; it threatens the safety of our food and diminishes our food security. Imports from countries that are allowed to produce food with lower standards mean that British farmers won’t be able to compete and this will decimate our industry – just as imported coal put British coal out of business in the 1980s.
“Offshoring our food production half way across the world will lead to further destruction of the Amazon rainforest to make way for grazing land. It will also add more food miles. Both are a backwards and dangerous step. We need to ensure our food security through sustainable food production, so when disasters such as Covid or a climate event strike, we can continue to feed the nation.
“We were delighted this demo to launch our campaign got off to such a great start. Please sign up here to follow our campaign and get involved to fight to maintain our world beating food and animal welfare standards.”
Darren Jones, Member of Parliament Bristol North West explained, “We need to see an Agriculture Bill that protects our legal guarantees on animal welfare and environmental standards in future trade talks. Ethical, sustainable and competitive farming is something that farmers, consumers and animal rights activists all agree on. I hope that the Government listens to this shared call on Wednesday and places food security, animal welfare and net-zero targets as central to our agricultural strategy.”
This demo was the inaugural event of Save British Farming. A summer of activities is planned to highlight how together we can save Britain from the horrors of chlorinated chicken and hormone-fuelled beef and regressive/cruel animal welfare practices. Save British Farming is launching a
Liz Webster explains why she’s campaigning to save food, animal welfare and environmental standards, and fighting for our future food security.
It was an emotional moment seeing Edwin leading the tractor demo into Parliament Sq where they did three circuits.
Huge thanks go to everyone who took part, taking time out to drive into Central London – for many, not an easy journey.
Ten minutes after the tractors leave New Covent Garden, they roll down Millbank on their way to parliament. Not a sight seen often in London…
Edwin and April have arrived from Liphook in Hampshire. Waiting to go at the Flower Market, New Covent Garden
“It’s vital we all act to keep our food safe and our countryside beautiful. Govt has to protect our food and animal welfare standards in law to protect our world beating industry.” Liz Webster, SBF Organiser
Edwin and his partner left their home in Hampshire the day before the demo in order to arrive in time. They turned their trailer into a bivouac and spent the night sleeping in it with their pet dog. As a thanks from us for going to such efforts, Edwin will be leading the tractor parade.
We are proud to announce Masterchef winner and author Emma Kennedy has joined our campaign. Listen to what she has to say about the dangers of the current Agriculture Bill.