US Ambassador claims hormone-fed beef and chlorine washed chicken are myths
In an article for Saturday’s Daily Telegraph, fears over chlorine-washed chicken and hormone-fed beef are described as ‘myths’, by Woody Johnson, the US ambassador to the UK. Mr Johnson urged the UK to embrace US farming methods after Washington published its objectives for a UK-US trade deal.
US Ambassador to the UK, Robert Wood Johnson (photo credit: US Embassy).
He also said the EU’s ‘Museum of Agriculture’ approach was not sustainable, adding that American farmers are making a vital contribution to the rest of the world. Their efforts deserve to be recognised. He stated “We are the future of farming.”
Mr Johnson said that: “This week the United States published our objectives for a future trade deal with the UK. We are now ready to negotiate the most ambitious and comprehensive trade deal in the history of our special relationship. And of course we want agriculture to be part of those negotiations – it is a great opportunity for both of us.
“But the British public has been led to believe otherwise. You have been presented with a false choice: either stick to EU directives, or find yourselves flooded with American food of the lowest quality. Inflammatory and misleading terms like ‘ chlorinated chicken and hormone beef’ are deployed to cast American farming in the worst possible light.”
Responding on Twitter, Deputy Chairman of the NFU Stuart Roberts, who is also a farmer based in Hertfordshire said: “The British public benefit from the third most affordable food in the world, produced to some of the highest environmental standards on the planet, and enjoy some of the most stunning landscapes. Not by my definition a museum.”
The British public benefit from the third most affordable food in the world produced to some of the highest animal welfare, food safety, food hygiene and environmental standards on the planet and enjoy some of the most stunning landscapes. Not my definition of a museum. pic.twitter.com/gocoCxqXnU
— Stuart roberts (@HertsFarmer) March 2, 2019
On Friday Donald Trump’s administration published its demands for a post-Brexit trade deal with Britain, which insists on ‘comprehensive market access’ for US agricultural products and the elimination of ‘unwanted barriers’ to food and drink imports.
EU rules currently limit US exports of certain food products, including chicken and beef – but the Ambassador wants that to change in the UK after Brexit. However the Defra Minister Michael Gove has repeatedly denied that the Government will accept lower food standards.
In the US, it is legal to wash chicken carcasses in strongly chlorinated water. US producers argue that it stops the spread of microbial contamination from the bird’s digestive tract to the meat, a method approved by US regulators.
But the practice has been banned in the EU since 1997, where only washing with cold air or water is allowed.
President of the NFU, Minette Batters.
In his article Mr Johnson described warnings over US farming practices as smears from “people with their own protectionist agenda”. He said that, “… scare-stories only tell you half the story.” On chlorine-washed chicken, Mr Johnson said the process was the same as that used by EU farmers to treat their fruit and vegetables.
Describing it as a “public safety no-brainer”, he claimed in his article that it was the most effective and economical way of dealing with potentially lethal bacteria such as campylobacter and salmonella.
Interviewed on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, President of the NFU Minette Batters said that while Mr Johnson was correct in saying chlorine-washed chicken and hormone-fed beef was safe to eat, there were other factors that needed considering. “The difference is welfare standards and environmental protection standards.
“Our consumer has demanded high standards of animal welfare, we’ve risen to that challenge – he’s right to make the point that food security is crucially important, we would say the same – but all we’re saying is “produce the food to our standards and we’ll have a trade deal.”
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