Rising food poverty and the severe consequences of the
climate crisis on our weather, landscapes and crops,
means that business as usual for our food industry is not
an option. And, the coronavirus crisis has exposed just
how fragile our food supply system really is. The
Agriculture Bill should be a golden opportunity to make
some progress, and create a food supply system that is
fair for both shoppers and British farmers. But what is
before parliament today is simply not good enough.
Labour has tabled two major amendments to the
legislation. The first requires the government to publish
a Covid-19 emergency food plan. With millions struggling
to make ends meet as a result of this pandemic, we need
political urgency to ensure that everyone can afford
food. The amendment we’re putting down would compel the
government to ensure that everyone has access to the food
that they need.
This pandemic takes place alongside the negotiations for
what our future relationship with the EU will look like,
as well as future trade deals between Britain and other
countries. Labour has been working with farmers and
environmentalists to ensure that Britain’s high standards
of environmental protections and animal welfare in
agriculture are not undercut by cheap imports. We cannot
allow our farmers to be undercut by food produced to
lower standards and then imported into Britain. So our
second amendment works to preserve the high food
standards upheld by British farmers in any future trade
deals.
The Conservative manifesto made commitments in line with
the amendments that we have laid out today, so we urge
the government to accept them and put them into law. The
closure of restaurants and cafes means that farmers and
food producers face incredibly difficult times ahead, and
government support for dairy farmers in particular has
not been forthcoming. With many farms in serious
financial difficulty, with razor-thin margins and rural
poverty rising, Labour is standing by our rural and
farming communities. We call on the Conservatives to do
the same by making this bill fit for purpose.
