Brexit: and maggots, fly eggs and rat hair ending up in the food on our plates

Many Americans are not very happy about the quality of their food:
Insect Eggs and Maggots - 11 Revolting Things Government Lets in Your Food - Pictures - CBS News
Maggots are hiding in lots of your favorite foods, and it's legal - Business Insider

The British press are getting anxious about the possibility of these standards becoming standard once we have that post-Brexit deal with the States:
Post-Brexit: Why UK could be forced to accept rat hair and maggots in their food after US trade deal | Daily Mail Online

Fears rat hair, maggots and mould might start appearing in British food following post-Brexit trade deal | The Independent

The 38 Degrees campaign group have launched a fund-raiser to counter US pressure:

Donald Trump is pressuring the UK government to scrap the rules that keep our food safe. [1] He’s threatening to abandon a post-Brexit trade deal with the UK unless we “eliminate” the standards that protect us - like the rules against selling contaminated food. [2]

If we follow rock-bottom American food standards instead, it could mean maggots, fly eggs and rat hair ending up in the food on our plates. [3]

Trump and his lobbyists are working fast to exploit Brexit so they can turn a profit by selling us contaminated food. [4] But we’ve got a chance to stop them.

Right now, a new law is being discussed in Parliament that could protect us all from Trump’s rock-bottom food rules. But the law will only pass if enough MPs back it. [5] And they’ll only do that if they feel a huge public outcry. That’s where we come in.

Taking on Trump and his lobbyists won’t be easy. They’ve got loud voices and deep pockets. But there are hundreds of thousands of us. If each of us gives a couple of pounds, together we can run a campaign that’ll be more than a match for them.

If you want to stop Trump from ripping up our food standards, please can you chip in today?

It’s hard to believe. But in America the law allows 60 insect fragments per 100 grams of chocolate, along with rat hair and even faeces. [6] No matter how we voted in the Brexit referendum, no one voted for this in our food.

If you donate to a fighting fund to take on Trump and his lobbyists, here’s what we could do together to stop their plan: 

> We could hire top-notch trade experts to carry out research, proving exactly how our food could be at risk from Trump’s plan
> We’d get the research in front of MPs to prove the threat Trump poses to our food standards
> We could fund public polling to show MPs how unpopular dropping food standards would be
> We could get the latest insider info so we’re all up to speed on what’s happening in Parliament - and can go head to head with professional lobbyists

We’ve already achieved a lot together. Hundreds of thousands of us signed the petition calling on the government not to weaken food standards after Brexit. [7] Thousands of us submitted to the government’s consultation on how we produce food after Brexit. [8] And we went head to head with the government at the Conservative Party Conference, challenging them on what they’ll do to stop Britain being flooded with contaminated food. [9] But there’s so much more to do.

The truth is, we need to ramp up our campaign right away, Jeremy. Will you chip in and help protect Britain’s food standards for generations to come?

Ben, Jess, Safiah, Laura, Mike and the rest of the 38 Degrees team


NOTES:
[1] Business Insider: Trump tells May to abandon 'unjustified' food standards for Brexit trade deal:
http://uk.businessinsider.com/trump-uk-must-bin-unjustified-food-standards-for-brexit-trade-deal-2018-10
[2] See note 1
[3] The Daily Mail: Post-Brexit Britain: Why UK could be forced to accept rat hair and maggots in their food after US trade deal:
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6261129/Post-Brexit-UK-forced-accept-rat-hair-maggots-food-trade-deal.html
Business Insider: Insect-filled chocolates, rat hair noodles, and maggoty orange juice: The reality of a Brexit trade deal with Trump:
http://uk.businessinsider.com/rat-hairs-and-maggots-may-warned-of-reality-of-us-brexit-trade-deal-2018-10
[4] Open Democracy: Brexit is taking our food policy in the wrong direction:
https://www.opendemocracy.net/uk/brexitinc/brendan-montague/brexit-is-taking-our-food-policy-in-wrong-direction
Business Insider: Trump tells May to abandon 'unjustified' food standards for Brexit trade deal:
http://uk.businessinsider.com/trump-uk-must-bin-unjustified-food-standards-for-brexit-trade-deal-2018-10
[5] There’s a plan to put forward an amendment to the Brexit Agriculture Bill that would guarantee our food standards aren’t weakened as a result of post-Brexit trade deals. But this will only get through Parliament if enough MPs back it.
Farming UK: Post-Brexit trade deals pose 'high threat' to farm welfare standards:
https://www.farminguk.com/News/Post-Brexit-trade-deals-pose-high-threat-to-farm-welfare-standards_50408.html
[6] The Independent: Fears rat hair, maggots and mould might start appearing in British food following post-Brexit trade deal:
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/food-standards-brexit-uk-us-trade-deal-maggots-rat-hair-worms-insects-mould-products-a8575721.html
[7] 38 Degrees: Don’t weaken our food, farm, and animal welfare standards: https://speakout.38degrees.org.uk/campaigns/4391
[8] Gov.uk: More than 44,000 responses to future farming consultation:
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/more-than-44000-responses-to-future-farming-consultation
[9] 38 Degrees Campaigns Director Laura Townshend spoke on a panel at the Conservative Party Conference with George Eustice, Minister of State at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
https://twitter.com/lauratownshend/status/1047232852730044417
38 Degrees blog: What does the public think of government support for farmers?:
https://home.38degrees.org.uk/2018/10/05/what-does-the-public-think-of-government-support-for-farmers/

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