Australian Beef - A huge threat to U.K. farmers

Tthe best way to reduce meat consumption, which I think we are all agreed is a good thing, is to increase the price of it, making it financially viable for UK farmers to supply the market and make a decent living as well.

That means no trade agreements with countries with low welfare standards. There were pictures in the papers today, showing in Australia, those dreadful de-animalising breeding lots that we are accustomed to seeing from America. No space, no grass and fed soya and rapeseed into hoppers.

Food that is not good for cattle and causes ill health and regular dosing with antibiotics, therapeutically and to hasten growth. How anyone could want to eat meat raised that way defeats me. I would rather do without meat raised that way

The only consolation is that the cows probably see slaughter, if they were capable of the thought, as a sweet relief from a life of misery.

Peasblossom

No, I think you misread Deeda, There will need to be big changes in agricultural over in the future.

The grant is to persuade older farmers to retire for two reasons.

Firstly EU subsidies meant older farmers could sit on largely unproductive land and use the subsidies as a kind of pension rather than work for maximum profit in order to keep a family and maintain a business.

Secondly it’s thought, possibly erroneously, that older farmers are less amenable to change, particularly to greener policies, since most of them began farming in times where farming relied heavily on chemicals.

I certainly saw farming change dramatically in the sixties and again when we joined the EU. M hopeful we can change again to a greener, kinder way of farming.

But it’s definitely not a winding down of business. Quite the reverse!

Yes, I believe this is happening- but certainly not to satisfy your dream (and mine) of a greener, kinder way of farming. They want to destroy high quality traditional farming- to replace with those planned farms, including cow towers, where animals will never see the sun or green fields.

UK’s richest man Sir James Dyson has big plans for this Lincolnshire farm - this ...

We know all about James Dyson, believe me!

And he’s not the only big business buying up farming land for investment (PersimmonHomes), personal tax havens and other enterprises that have nothing to do with long term farming.

This started a long time ago though when farms were given financial aid under EU Agricultural policy and owners of large holdings could scoop both rebates and tax advantages.

Things must change now and the Sustainable Grants should help the smaller farmer.

If we are even half serious about reducing carbon emissions we should not import Australian beef.

If we are completely serious about reducing carbon emissions we should give up eating beef.

There were pictures in the papers today, showing in Australia, those dreadful de-animalising breeding lots that we are accustomed to seeing from America. No space, no grass and fed soya and rapeseed into hoppers.

That is not for the whole life of the cattle.
It is just for 'finishing' for a short time.
They are free range for most of their lives, some over thousands of acres.

Beef cattle are reared outdoors in all Australian states and territories. Southern areas with good pasture have herds with a high density of stock and northern areas, with less feed, have herds with a low density of stock.

RSPCA Australia

Monica I've been to Australian cattle stations, seen cattle grazing on land that stretches for hundreds of miles in Australia so I would suggest some of the information you have seen is biased at best.

Beef cattle are often reared outdoors on grass, although many are brought indoors or crowded into feedlots for fattening before slaughter. Even though many cattle in the UK, Ireland and Northern France are fattened on grass, many cattle are kept indoors and fattened on a high grain diet across most of Europe.

Thousands of British cattle reared for supermarket beef are being fattened in industrial-scale units where livestock have little or no access to pasture.

Research by the Guardian and the Bureau of Investigative Journalism has established that the UK is now home to a number of industrial-scale fattening units with herds of up to 3,000 cattle at a time being held in grassless pens for extended periods rather than being grazed or barn-reared.

In Britain
Beef cattle are usually kept in either:

'^extensive' grazing-based systems where they are mainly kept in fields and may be housed for part of the year.^
'intensive' indoor systems where, in some cases, they may be housed throughout their lives.
www.rspca.org.uk/adviceandwelfare/farm/beef/farming

Not so different from Australian beef production except in Australia cattle have far more freedom to roam.

Just because they have space doesn’t mean they are kept in anything like natural conditions - fed on grain, given growth hormones and anti biotics, and as for “ finishing” - ugh. Not to mention the environmental costs of all the water needed and transporting their dead bodies half way round the world..

What I really object to is live exports which are still continuing, particularly to the Middle East. Presumably the UK doesn’t take those ? Cruel and immoral.

Callistemon This is why I only eat 'Pasture for Life' meat. www.pastureforlife.org/. Animals raised on unimproved grassland, out all year, with their grazing supplemented only by hay, no soya or grain, no growth hormones and antibiotics only when needed, which is not often because of how they are being raised

Nor does their rearing require vast quantities of water and, in most cases, like the farm I buy from, most of the meat is sold to customers within a 30 mile radius.

I am told it is illegal to use hormones here in Australia for livestock. Don’t know whether they adhere to the rule of course.

vegansrock

Just because they have space doesn’t mean they are kept in anything like natural conditions - fed on grain, given growth hormones and anti biotics, and as for “ finishing” - ugh. Not to mention the environmental costs of all the water needed and transporting their dead bodies half way round the world..

I presume you mean here in the UK and the EU vegansrock?

It is your choice not to eat meat but please respect the choice of others to eat what they please.

nanna8

I am told it is illegal to use hormones here in Australia for livestock. Don’t know whether they adhere to the rule of course.

I think you are correct, nanna8, and hormone fed beef would not be imported into the UK because of our regulations.

I am not commenting on whether the trade deal is a good thing or not, just trying to put right some of the misconceptions on here.

People seem to forget how Australians must have felt when they were thrown under a proverbial bus when we joined the EU. I'm surprised they want to bother with the paltry amount they can send here.q

M0nica
That's great. I buy locally from our farm shops but not everyone can afford that.

I would not deny people the right to feed their children.

I get why people want to eat meat and am not disrespecting their choices- what I’m objecting to is this trade deal with Australia and the environmental costs and the harm it is doing to UK farmer- particularly small producers. Any animal farming is harmful to the environment, and is the biggest contributor to climate change, so we should be aiming to reduce meat consumption rather than increase it.

nanna8

What I really object to is live exports which are still continuing, particularly to the Middle East. Presumably the UK doesn’t take those ? Cruel and immoral.

New analysis suggests the EU could be responsible for up to 80% of the global trade in live farm animals, which continues to be linked to animal welfare failings.

www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jan/27/eu-revealed-to-be-worlds-biggest-live-animal-exporter

More evidence is coming to light about practices in the EU regarding animal welfare including the hypocritical mink farming.
But for some reason the EU is held up as an example of all that is excellent.

I find it all quite shocking and think I made the wrong choice but it didn't matter in the end anyway.

particularly small producers.

The small producers will be the ones who cater to the niche markets and sell through farm shops, local shops etc. Locally produced beef with a provenance.

I doubt the tiny percentage imported will make any difference and, if we want to export, we do have to accept imports.

Anyway, if posters have convinced themselves that all food from the EU is produced to the highest possible standards compared to elsewhere and refuse to look at the facts, then nothing will convince them otherwise
There is no point in posting is there.

Callistemon

Anyway, if posters have convinced themselves that all food from the EU is produced to the highest possible standards compared to elsewhere and refuse to look at the facts, then nothing will convince them otherwise
There is no point in posting is there.

I don't 'think' that anyone has said that EU food is produced to 'the highest possible standards', though I may be mistaken because I haven't trawled through this rambly thread again. I think the claim is that that Australian beef 'isn't' produced to EU standards.

Which would mean that UK beef exports to the EU would be further diminished because the EU would be wary of importing UK beef in case Australian beef slid in under the guise of UK beef. though EU countries could still export to the UK.

I have also seen it suggested that a trade deal on Aus. beef would make it more difficult to rejoin the EU, or even the Single Market at some time in the future as any trade deals which allowed food with non EU standards into the UK would be hard or impossible to renege on. This would make it a political move rather than a practical one.

I haven't seen a great deal of argument that EU food is produced to a low standard. Acres of polytunnels worked by 'slave labour', while reprehensible, does not imply that the food produced is of a low standard.

Indeed.

But the fact is, Brexiters cannot have it both ways. They went on and on, and Gove and others totally confirmed that this would be 100% protected- re buying British, supporting local farmers and produce. On and on and on - and I acutally agreed with them. and was delighted when Gove, on Countryfile and elsewhere, saying that it was absolutely and totally garanteed, that British farming would be protected from cheaper produce from elsewhere. And that it would make zero sense, from all points of view. He promised- absolute red line. Perhaps someone can find the video?

And now say - oh that's fine- just bring cheaper meat from t'other side of the world, that is fine!

It is non-sensical and hypocritical in the extreme. What more damage are they going to stand by, approve and clap- just so they don't have to admit that this is NOT the Brexit they thought, and we promised, it would be.

Rees-Mogadishu promised us cheaper food and shoes pre-referendum. I remember him saying it. So perhaps it WAS the Brexit I voted for? Not the main reason, before anyone jumps on me. Just saying.

Stupid predictive text ha!! Ought to have previewed.
Rees-Mogg (natch).

I prefer the first version

I think he was illustrating how global deals could free us from the protectionist practices of the EU.

Alegrias ?