The now-enacted will of (some of) the people

[desensitized43]

29 minutes ago, snowychap said:

May has apparently written to the EU to ask for an extension to the 30th June.

Have they just reprinted the letter from the other week?

She just doesn't listen at all.

[StanBalaban]

That'll be the same EU that Britain has no power in and are constantly being dictated to then, Jacob?

You **** unbearable smear of smegma.

[Stevo985]

17 hours ago, tonyh29 said:

just saying

 

if you sort that data purely on Quality and safety the USA is 4th  ..Uk is 18th

 

there are other studies as well that also rank the USA higher than the majority of European countires

It's hard for me to comment on that without knowing the criteria of the study and what foods they're looking at.

Happy to be proved wrong, but I thought it was pretty widely accepted that the standard of meat (chepa meat at least) in the USA was far worse than our standards. Partly because of these sorts of EU laws that ensure a certain standard.

But like I said, happy to be educated.

[StanBalaban]

 

[VILLAMARV]

The Eu tests for loads more drug residues than the US (50/15 or something like that). The EU uses little GMcrops and requires labelling on GMgoods, The US use loads and don't label it. Hormones used in US meat production that are banned in the EU, Chlorine washing the same, and they use loads of pesticides also banned by the EU.

Worst of all imo they still use gestation crates for caging up pregnant lady pigs.

I mean it's a shame the EU doesn't follow Russia's lead and just ban the evil Monsanto and their GMcrops but then Bayer just bought them so why would they?

If people still want convincing that American food can be just awful then try a Hershey's 'chocolate' product 

[Stevo985]

5 minutes ago, VILLAMARV said:

 

Worst of all imo they still use gestation crates for caging up pregnant lady pigs.

Unfortunately farrowing crates are still widely used in Europe, which aren't much better.

Both are disgusting, but I don't want to turn this into the Veggie thread.

Edited April 5, 2019 by Stevo985

[VILLAMARV]

9 minutes ago, Stevo985 said:

Unfortunately farrowing crates are still widely used in Europe, which aren't much better.

And here in the UK, about 60% of our own sows will see one.

While not standing up for British Barbarism I believe the difference with the US would be 5weeks in the farrowing crate as opposed to 4 months in the gestation crates followed by another month in the farrowing crates. A practice we banned 20 years ago.

Go Sweden and Norway, they've banned the lot.

[VILLAMARV]

53 minutes ago, Stevo985 said:

Both are disgusting, but I don't want to turn this into the Veggie thread.

I agree and neither do I but now my sad face looks sad that you think this

Battery farmed chickens - about 90% of US eggs are still produced in battery cages now illegal in the EU. Now ok the EU cages are basically a bit bigger now but it only accounts for around 50% of EU egg production with Germany leading the way in abolishing the lot a few years ago IIRC. The trend in the EU is towards phasing these practices out whereas in the US the worst practices of the industry continue unabated.

Not trying to hijack the thread, just not entirely sure what "Global Food Security" is either or why indexing it is a thing.

 

[tonyh29]

2 hours ago, Stevo985 said:

It's hard for me to comment on that without knowing the criteria of the study and what foods they're looking at.

Happy to be proved wrong, but I thought it was pretty widely accepted that the standard of meat (chepa meat at least) in the USA was far worse than our standards. Partly because of these sorts of EU laws that ensure a certain standard.

But like I said, happy to be educated.

I think there is an element of myth around EU food standards tbh , you only have to have looked at horse meat scandals, chicken that actually contained pork, salmonella outbreaks  ... ok , true that isn't directly related to hormones in beef as Peter was arguing  , but even the chlorinated foods that  remainers love to harp on about ,  the salad you eat is being washed in  chlorine and around 10% of product tested is seen to be over the EU's approved level  ... and guess what , its higher than the chlorine levels in the infamous USA chicken

i linked to something in this thread week / months ago , wherby Eu food safety seemed to be more about protectionism than actual safety and certainly very selective   .. i.e banning Mexican( might have been Brazil) chicken on the pretence of salmonella ,whilst Polish chicken was found to be contaminated in much higher quantities

 

the final argument is , if you've ever been to the USA and had steak , think back to how delicious it was ( i mean beef steak to be clear not some plant based product masquerading as steak )  , the best steaks I've ever eaten have always been in America  , so case closed

 

Edited April 5, 2019 by tonyh29

[tonyh29]

1 hour ago, VILLAMARV said:

If people still want convincing that American food can be just awful then try a Hershey's 'chocolate' product 

that's a good point  .... you win

[Xann]

 

[VILLAMARV]

Just now, tonyh29 said:

that's a good point  .... you win

Much as I love to I don't know if it's possible

I agree with you that the EU food standards are often lauded above their station but I think myth is a bit far. To me they are a bit of a half-way house that does great PR work while propping up industries like Danish pig farming and so on. I suppose the pragmatic reality would lead any change to being incremental and my own feelings are is that it's all been a bit slow but people are finally starting to understand 'free-range' doesn't amount to a whole hill of beans and the industry is having to react.

On your lovely US steaks - They have higher standards in some ways on organic meat than we do - not that I'm assuming yours was organic - but you can't use antibiotics in the US and call it organic whereas in the EU you can. Conversely with fruit trees the opposite applies for things like Apples and Pears.

So some of their 'standards' I'd say were higher. But then the top end of the market isn't the issue really. It's the bottom. Where price is driving the standards.

I've been surprised at the price of basic food items in the US. Fresh fruit and vegetables particularly. I never used to understand why so many of them would eat out seemingly ALL the time, now I do. It's cheaper.

[bickster]

29 minutes ago, tonyh29 said:

the salad you eat is being washed in

sod that, I've got a healthy diet

[bickster]

29 minutes ago, tonyh29 said:

that's a good point  .... you win

No it's not, Cookies and Cream is ace, I just don't think of it as chocolate. (Everything else I've ever tried by Hersey is muck though, pretty much the Cadbury of the USA)

[Xann]

There was a good article written recently by an American living in the UK about why we don't want US food over here. Will try find it later, if I'm not out?

Here's another recent one.

Quote

 

The UK and the US have been on a different journey when it comes to food standards in recent decades. In the UK, we have built one of the most sophisticated and discerning markets for food anywhere in the world. Consumers have become more informed and show more interest in the provenance of their food and how it is produced. The British retail sector has contributed to building a strong brand around provenance and standards. Regulators have also made sure that we strive for the highest standards of animal welfare and food safety in the world.

Agriculture in the US remains quite backward in many respects. It retains a position of resisting more information on labels to limit consumer knowledge and engagement. Its livestock sectors often suffer from poor husbandry, which leads to more prevalence of disease and a greater reliance on antibiotics. Whereas we have a “farm to fork” approach to managing disease and contamination risk throughout the supply chain through good husbandry, the US is more inclined to simply treat contamination of its meat at the end with a chlorine or similar wash.

However, the greatest difference between the British and US systems of farming is their attitudes to animal welfare. The UK has legally recognised the sentience of farm animals since 1875 when the first regulations were introduced to govern slaughterhouses. Since then we have introduced the Animals Act of 1911, tougher slaughterhouse regulations in 1933 and then a series of other improvements culminating in the 2006 Animal Welfare Act. We have some of the highest standards of animal welfare in the world and we have driven improvements in other European countries that have traditionally lagged behind.

In the US, legislation on animal welfare is woefully deficient. There are some regulations governing slaughterhouses but they are not as comprehensive. As far as on-farm welfare legislation is concerned, there is virtually nothing at all at a federal level and only weak and patchy animal welfare regulations at a state level predominantly in the West Coast states. There is a general resistance to even acknowledging the existence of sentience in farm animals which is quite extraordinary.

 

George Eustice, Conservative agriculture minister 2015-2019

Guardian

 

[bickster]

I believe @tonyh29has had a word in the ear of his good friends "The French" and convinced them to veto any extension unless there is a plan

[tonyh29]

1 hour ago, bickster said:

I believe @tonyh29has had a word in the ear of his good friends "The French" and convinced them to veto any extension unless there is a plan

it's probably as much about Macron deflecting from his own issues at home  and getting a few headlines in  ..but If you believe the Hitler youth woman in the German parliament the other day  , the sooner the Uk leave , the sooner France takes over the German role of dictating to the other 26 

 

Edited April 5, 2019 by tonyh29

[StanBalaban]

 

[tonyh29]

16% of 1,295 Sky customers are bonkers    If forced to choose between ....

Edited April 5, 2019 by tonyh29

[markavfc40]

44 minutes ago, tonyh29 said:

16% of 1,295 Sky customers are bonkers    If forced to choose between ....

I'd say 57% of them are bonkers.