No Chlorinated Chicken or Hormone-fed Beef in Future Trade Deals, Sunak Vows

THE GUARDIAN: PM to tell farmers he will never do a trade deal that includes practices associated with US factory farms

Rishi Sunak has vowed to take chlorinated chicken and hormone-fed beef off British tables in future trade deals, promising to put UK farming at the heart of government trade policy.

“There will be no chlorine-washed chicken and no hormone-treated beef on the UK market. Not now, not ever,” he will tell farmers in a letter unveiling a new government policy to improve British food security.

And in a swipe at his predecessor, Liz Truss, the prime minister will also tell the farming community that they will not be “an afterthought” in deals with foreign farmers. » | Lisa O'Carroll and Helena Horton | Tuesday, May 16, 2023

”No chlorinated chicken or hormone-fed beef” in future trade deals? I should bloody well think not! We don’t need American crap on our supermarket shelves! Just take a look at the health of the average American! Do we need to import these health problems into the UK in our food supply?

If we had never left the European Union, with its far, far superior food and health standards, we wouldn’t have this problem today.

Further, Mr Sunak, money talks. So, I doubt that you will be strong enough to say no to any future American trade deal which includes chlorinated chicken or hormone-fed beef. Your words, Mr Sunak, sound great, but they are as empty as a brothel after a police raid! – © Mark Alexander

Ministers call for immigration and UK food prices to increase: Exclusive: Sunak urged to take urgent action to solve food crisis at meeting with Defra and farmers »

Brexit Added Nearly £6bn to UK Food Bills in Two Years, Research Finds

THE GUARDIAN: Cost of food imported from EU rose because of extra red tape, with poorest most affected

Brexit added almost £6bn to UK food bills in the two years to the end of 2021, affecting poorest households the most, research has found.

The cost of food imported from the EU shot up because of extra red tape, adding £210 to the average household food bills over 2020 and 2021, London School of Economics (LSE) researchers discovered.

As low-income families spend a greater share of their income on food, the impact of Brexit on their purchases was disproportionately greater, they said. » | Lisa O'Carroll, Brexit correspondent | Thursday, Dece,mer 1, 2022

The Guardian View on the Dog Days of Boris Johnson’s Premiership: Crises, Which Crises?

THE GUARDIAN – EDITORIAL: As the Conservative party talks to itself, a chance to grip the challenges of the autumn and winter is being wasted

‘Boris Johnson appears to have washed his hands of a country facing stagflation and looming recession.’ Photograph: Matt Dunham/AP
The sweltering summer continues to deliver ominous headlines, all pointing to the perfect storm that seems certain to break in the autumn. A new study from York University predicts that, by January 2023, more than half of UK households could be in fuel poverty, spending over 10% of net income on energy costs. The health secretary, Stephen Barclay, admits that the NHS may be unable to cope with a likely Covid wave, seasonal flu and the health impact of the cost of living crisis. Charities, which successive Conservative governments have relied on to prop up one of the meanest social safety nets in Europe, are struggling to meet soaring demand for basics as their own finances are hit by the economic squeeze. » | Editorial | Monday, August 8, 2022

Johnson accused of allowing ‘summer of drift’ amid cost of living crisis: Business leaders urge PM to act as No 10 says there are no plans to address crisis until next Tory leader is voted in »

Gordon Brown: ‘Set emergency budget or risk a winter of dire poverty’: Former PM has warned of a financial timebomb awaiting families as Labour plans a major intervention to address crisis »

Ros Atkins on... Food Price Rises and the Ukraine War

The war in Ukraine has already caused a surge in some food prices globally, with wheat prices up 40% this month.

Read a few more details here.

Borrow billions or see incomes squeezed, Rishi Sunak told: Chancellor Rishi Sunak faces a "huge judgment call" over whether to borrow more or allow household budgets to be squeezed, new research suggests. »

Food Prices Could Double by 2030
The price of some food staples could double in the next 20 years because of rising demand and climate change, a British-based charity has warned.

In a report released on Tuesday, Oxfam said world hunger was already increasing due to rising food price inflation and oil price hikes, as well as environmental changes such as droughts and floods.

Charlie Angela has more.

Warning of ‘Food Price Riots in the UK’
YAHOO! FINANCE: A senior economist at the worldwide bank HSBC (LSE: HSBA.L - news) has warned of civil unrest in Britain if food prices continue to soar.

Speaking on Jeff Randall Live, senior global economist Karen Ward cautioned that the UK could experience the kind of food riots seen in other countries.

"Even in the developed world I think we have very, very low wage growth, so people aren't getting more in their pay packet to compensate them for food and energy, and I think we could see social unrest certainly in parts of the developed world and the UK as well."

She (SNP: ^SHEY - news) went on to highlight the link between high food prices and the escalating cost of crude oil.

"More and more we are seeing that some of these foodstuffs are actually substitutes for energy itself, particularly biofuels. So I think the energy markets are a significant contributor to these food price gains."

The comments come as the United Nations warned the cost of food is now at the highest level for 21 years and set to rise further. >>> SKY NEWS | Tuesday, March 08, 2011

A Ticking Arab Time Bomb
YNET NEWS: Tighten your seatbelts: Anger expected to explode in Arab world following Ramadan

Soon we will see Arab world rulers boarding private jets and traveling to their colleagues’ lavish palaces for the Iftar – the evening meal that breaks the daily fast during Ramadan. Mubarak will hop over to Saudi Arabia, Jordan’s King Abdullah will travel to the Emirates, Iraq’s president will also make his way to the Persian Gulf, and the Lebanese leadership will travel to Dubai. This is the source of the money; this is where high politics is being converted to dollars. Interests vis-à-vis charity.

Regular Joes in the Arab world will be able to see the hugs on the red carpet, but the lavish feasts are not to be photographed. This year, more than ever, the sight of tables packed with delicacies and servants wearing white gloves could start a fire among the hundreds of millions of hungry Arabs.

The number of hungry people in the Arab world has reached frightening proportions this year. The month of Ramadan, whose onset coincides with the opening of the school year in Israel and which will end precisely when the Hebrew New Year starts, is standing at the shadow of a deep and dangerous abyss that has emerged between the people on the street and their leaders.

The statistics warn about an overwhelming leap not only in the number of unemployed, but also in the price of food - Bread, rice, legumes, and the nuts and seeds that must be present at the fast-breaking meal. In Turkey, for example, one million “aid packages” will be handed out to struggling families. In Egypt, millionaires and public figures who grew rich via the corrupt ties between capital and government will quiet their conscience by feeding tens of thousands of deprived and unfortunate citizens. A Ticking Arab Time Bomb >>> By Smader Peri | September 4, 2008

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback – USA)
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Hardcover – USA)