Waitrose Latest Retailer To Reaffirm Commitment To British Farming Following Trade Deals
In the wake of the UK signing trade deals with the US and India, Waitrose has stated that it won’t compromise on animal welfare or its support for British farming.
Aldi made a similar pledge yesterday, whilst Tesco’s CEO said early this week that it has no plans to source American beef.
Waitrose head of agriculture, aquaculture and fisheries, Jake Pickering, said the retailer stands “shoulder to shoulder” with British farmers and will continue to champion high welfare and provenance across its supply chains.
“We want to reassure Waitrose customers that we will never compromise on our number one animal welfare standards or our long-standing commitment to British farming,” he said.
“All of our own-brand fresh beef, lamb, chicken, pork, eggs and fresh milk are sourced from British farmers to high welfare standards – and we have raised the bar for customers with the Better Chicken Commitment and introduction of our new welfare labelling.”
UK rules currently prohibit imports such as chlorinated chicken and hormone-treated beef, which are commonplace in some markets.
However, the British farming industry has raised concerns that current regulations could be watered down in future trade negotiations.
NamNews Implications:
* As Tesco, Aldi and now Waitrose plan to resist the appeal of US beef.
* The implications of this stance deserve special mention:
- ‘with little difference between the prices of British-produced beef and US beef that does meet UK standards’…
- …it is unlikely that US Beef will find a UK market.
- In which case, much depends on the UK government’s determination to resist any attempts to compromise quality standards, under US pressure.
* Watch this space…
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