Animal welfare advocates, food policy experts and farmers have reacted furiously after the government lowered the standards of the post-Brexit trade deal in its food strategy, released on Monday.
In a version of the strategy leaked to the Guardian on Friday, the government has pledged to make it easier for countries to import goods if they have high animal welfare standards.
The draft reads: “We will seek a liberalization linked to animal welfare in ours [free trade agreements]which allows us to offer more generous liberalization for certified products as certain key animal welfare criteria specified in the agreement. “
But the final version is stripped of this and only promises to “consider” animal welfare and the environment when it comes to free trade agreements.
Caroline Lucas, Brighton’s Green MP, said: “This seems like another shameful opportunity missed to consolidate strict animal welfare protection in our free trade agreements.
“We need a full explanation from the government as to why this element was removed and on what demands.”
The government’s white paper, presented as the first such strategy in 75 years, rejected most of the ambitious policies of food tsar Henry Dimbleby, which he described in a report published last year.
Dimbleby made a number of high-profile suggestions, such as a significant expansion of free school meals, more environmental and welfare standards in agriculture, and a 30% reduction in meat and dairy consumption. None of these have reached the final strategy.
Rob Percival, head of food policy at the Soil Association, said:
“Why has the strategy been diluted? It’s this evidence of a rift in the government, Defra [the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs] triumphed by DIT [the Department for International Trade]? Farmers will need more than positive rhetoric if they are to continue to raise welfare and environmental standards. The government should develop basic business standards as a matter of urgency. “
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Claire Bass, executive director of Humane Society International, said: “This approach to smoke and mirrors to safeguard animal welfare in imported products simply will not be washed away. Instead of adopting a regulation of basic animal welfare standards to govern trade, we are now awaiting a “statement” on animal health that will “inform the negotiations”.
“This soft policy approach will turn the UK into a counterpart in negotiations with major trading partners such as the US, and in practice barriers to the UK’s animal welfare trade will be dropped at the first sign of any objection.” .
Farmers have said they are disappointed with the reduction in the trade section and put English producers at a disadvantage.
Patrick Holden, a dairy farmer and director of the Sustainable Food Trust, said eliminating the animal welfare commitment was indefensible, adding: “Unfortunately, I’m not surprised to see this section removed. Farmers of this country are worried about being disappointed by the lower standard imports, and they are not wrong.
“The UK had a chance to show leadership in this area: this was a missed opportunity, we are now signing these gross trade deals and continue to dilute what was already a very dilute package in trade.”
Defra declined to comment.