10 June 2020
Food Hygiene and Farming Standards

Having grown up in a farming family, worked in the past for the NFU, been the UK’s first ever Minister for Life Sciences and played a key role in the UK’s first ever Agri-Tech Industrial Strategy, I completely understand how vitally important Food Hygiene and Farming Welfare Standards are to this country.

That’s why I have:

  • Always campaigned hard as part of my long-standing commitment to these crucial sectors in our Norfolk, and national, economy.
  • Led policy work as a backbencher and in my various Government roles – and welcomed the Government’s Manifesto Pledge to protect our high food hygiene and farming welfare standards going forward.
  • Spoken with Ministers and officials four times in the last month alone to seek reassurances and insist on these proper protections being in the new Agriculture Bill and in any future free trade deals.
  • Abstained from voting on Clause 2 of the Agriculture Bill to signal strongly to the Government that I was not prepared to back them unless those reassurances and protections were in writing.
  • Tweeted regularly and highlighted in the Press the need to protect and strengthen our food hygiene and farming welfare values and standards, and use these free trade negotiations to raise standards abroad.

I am 100% opposed to selling out UK farming and food producers on the altar of cheap food from producers of low value and low welfare products around the world.

Rest assured, I shall continue lobbying Government hard on this issue.

To learn more, please visit my web-story on the recent Agriculture Bill here and my Twitter here