Waitrose has fired a warning shot over the governments bows

I have written to my (SNP) MP on the subject of the dodgy trade deals and received an excellent response.
If there is one thing which might induce me to vote for an independent Scotland, it would be this.
Most people don't think about where their food comes from. Why would they? They are too busy with other aspects of their lives so it is the responsibility of us all and especially those of us with more time to keep the pressure on.
It's not just for those of us who have a choice but for the institutions, schools, hospitals, care homes, canteens, restaurants, prisons and all the places where standards are up against cost.

Why not give up eating meat altogether? Eating animals is barbaric anyway, quite apart from the varying conditions in which they are raised.
I don't understand how anyone who calls themselves Christian can eat another living creature.

I buy my meat from Waitrose because they care about animal welfare. I would never ever buy chlorinated chicken, I would rather go without. Best to 2/3 ounce of good meat than double that of rubbish, failing that do a vegetarian dish.

It isn't just the meat, unfortunately, ladymuck we should also watch out for the pesticides and fertilizers, excess plastic packaging, food miles and all the things that unscrupulous importers would foist on us.
I don't mean just for our own personal health and well-being but for the planet.

Today I heard on the news about micro plastic particles present in fruit and vegetables.

“Today I heard on the news about micro plastic particles present in fruit and vegetables.“

That’s highly unlikely, plants take up water and dissolved nutrients through tiny capillaries in the root system, not much scope for any solid particles to get absorbed, any external particles can be washed off.

Waitrose certainly are at the top end of quality retailing along with M&S, however all the main supermarkets have similar welfare and environmental checks on production. Tesco is particularly tough, jumping through hoops becomes second nature if you supply them.

Better to go without than to accept lower welfare standards. It's not just chicken, some beef in the us is pumped with hormones for speedy growth. Seriously would you give that to your family?

I don't understand how anyone who calls themselves Christian can eat another living creature.

I don't recall anything in the bible about Christ being a vegan, ladymuck

Very true, NotSpaghetti. Maybe the best that can be done if low quality American meat is to be imported , is that at least it should be prominently labelled "meat from American animal factory system"" then at least people have the choice to eat meat or lentils.

For reasons we all know bad animal welfare goes hand in hand with meat that is not safe to eat.

One condition of a US trade deal is that food is NOT labeled with place of origin.

alexa the U.K. government has accepted under pressure from the USA that it will no longer label the country of origin.

Best to buy your meat locally if possible.

Daisymae

Better to go without than to accept lower welfare standards. It's not just chicken, some beef in the us is pumped with hormones for speedy growth. Seriously would you give that to your family?

Perhaps that's why so many Americans are seriously overweight - all those hormones that they are ingesting along with their beef burgers.

Dinahmo

Daisymae

Better to go without than to accept lower welfare standards. It's not just chicken, some beef in the us is pumped with hormones for speedy growth. Seriously would you give that to your family?

Perhaps that's why so many Americans are seriously overweight - all those hormones that they are ingesting along with their beef burgers.

Plus a lot of processed food has high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) added as a sweetener.

HFCS has been implicated in rising levels of obesity and diabetes.

One condition of a US trade deal is that food is NOT labeled with place of origin.

Various posters on here have been banging on about this for ages. Why isn't anyone taking any notice?

e.g.

at least it should be prominently labelled "meat from American animal factory system"" then at least people have the choice to eat meat or lentils.

Sorry to single you out, Alexa. You're not the only one, you just happened to be on this thread.

Davidhs Here is evidence of microplastic in fruit and veg
inews.co.uk/inews-lifestyle/food-and-drink/carrots-apples-lettuces-microplastic-contamination-explained-455905

By the way Scottish beef has disappeared from Tesco recently. I think we have to give credit to Waitrose for leading the way and taking a stand this time.

I won’t be buying any meat from America. My Click and Collect order from Asda has twice substituted eggs from caged hens as opposed to the free range eggs requested. I’ve stopped putting eggs on the order now and just popped out to buy eggs from Waitrose or Lidl, where I can choose free range.
I think it entirely possible that Trump will lose the election now, but we have to remember that chlorine washed chicken and hormone pumped beef was common in America long before Trump, and undoubtedly will be whoever is elected next.

Scottish beef is being labelled with a union jack ,Scottish cheese has also had the Saltire removed.I ordered Lockerbie cheese and unless you checked the label carefully you wouldn't know it was FROM Lockerbie.Scottish produce is sought worldwide by top chefs,its reputation is as the best you can buy .If we lose all labelling it will decimate our food and drink industry .We cant allow that to happen.Sadly we did say it was on the cards before 2014 and we have been proven right as with so many things "promised" when Cameron said Lead us dont Leave us.They are trying to deny we exist .Anyone who says they're a Scot who thinks this is acceptable needs to give their brain a wobble

I prefer to buy goods from the UK where it’s possible. paddyanne is correct, Scottish food is high quality but so is all food produced in the UK. I certainly hope labelling isn’t removed from foodstuffs, I thought foods have to be labelled by law.

Plastic Particles, apparently particles as small as 2 microns can pass through the root system of plants, it that a threat to us?.
Bearing in mind that we wear man made clothes - plastic everyday, tiny particles from them will be entering the pores in our body which seems to me to be a larger risk. As plastic breaks down it forms ever smaller particles, it does not dissolve into elements, like cotton or wool, the bonds that hold it together break.

IMO this is worth a look. (I have signed it.)
www.nfuonline.com/news/latest-news/food-standards-petition/

For those who think that Waitrose are whiter than white, look at the industrial size beef farms ( not US size but on the same lines) from where they are sourcing some of their beef.
This information is from the ecologist.

We are far from perfect ourselves. You just need to remember the scandal of BSE (when vegetarian animals were turned into cannibals) but at least when we were involved in creating the food standards for the EU, we had a say.

I know what you mean Paddyanne about the disappearance of the Saltire but seemingly some English objected! You can't keep everyone happy.

Tesco has removed the Saltire from packaging on its Scottish-grown fruit following complaints from English customers. ... 2016

I wonder if the Americans have ever demonstrated regarding their poor food standards and appalling animal husbandry? It can make a difference. Here in the UK we were awash with eggs from battery hen 'farms', but as we became more environmentally aware, we signed many petitions and lobbied our MPs on the terrible conditions that chickens were kept in and as a result battery hen eggs are being phased out (by 2025). I just hope that our MPs take note of our protests regarding food being imported from the USA and accept that they must refuse a trade deal in that respect.

Farms that supply Waitrose and all the other supermarkets may well be large but they are inspected and audited, everything is traceable. Even parents and grandparents, the animal itself from birth to supermarket shelf, with larger units it’s all computerized too.