A very good long read on UK farming. There have been various discussions among experts on twitter and from those I take the clear view that the UK can within constraints set our own animal welfare and environmental policies domestically and for imports ft.com/content/1db1df…
Questions of detail and choice. What would any animal welfare and environmental standards look like? Having seen a presentation from a leading expert @QUBFoodProf I think there is much we could sensibly do towards a sustainable food production system.
So do we want to set our own animal welfare and environmental standards in agriculture? On the one hand, setting our own standards was a key Brexit driver. On the other, it kills a US trade deal stone dead, and that was also significant for some.
Cheap food from other countries or sustainable food production perhaps? A hugely complex policy question which hasn't so far been well served by a political debate still dragged down by Brexit yes or no. Well we left. Time to move on to what's best for the UK... /end
