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20/07/2022 EU seeks to restrict crops grown using harmful pesticides, decline in trust in food, homegrown feed

A ‘hand grenade’ thrown into food trade deals: the EU proposes to ban imports of food grown using harmful chemicals.

The EU is proposing to block the importation of food, grown using the banned pesticides neonicotinoids, in an effort to reduce their environmental impact in other countries. This would be the first time that a World Trade Organisation member used environmental impacts, rather than consumer health, to restrict pesticide use in trade. Alan Matthews, Professor Emeritus of European agricultural policy at Trinity College Dublin, has described the move as 'throwing a hand grenade into global agri-food trade’.
Faith in British food has fallen, according to a survey just released by the Red Tractor food standards label. Their annual ‘Trust in Food’ index showed although UK food is trusted more than imported goods, it declined by 8% overall, from last years’ figures.
All week we’re talking about animal feed. Most commercial egg producers rely on soya to provide protein for their chickens which they need for laying. Organic farmer Mike Mallett at Maple Farm in Suffolk has 2000 free range birds and he’s rejected soya as a feed. For the last nine years he's been working to give his chickens only home-grown organic feed and he’s nearly succeeded.

Presented by Anna Hill and produced by Beatrice Fenton.

13 minutes

Broadcast

  • Wed 20 Jul 2022 05:45

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