British Meat For British Bellies

Tesco knows which side its bread is buttered. The supermarket giant is scrapping 'misleading' meat labelling but only after a nudge from the Tories Honest Food campaign. Every little helps in the battle of 'bad food Britain'.

The sham of mislabelled meat to dupe shoppers into thinking they're buying into the Great British brand leaves a nasty taste in the mouth.

How can you trust something that's got a Union Flag plastered on it when the tiny print tells you it is only produced and packed in Britain, not British born and bred.

Labelling meals as "produced in Britain" when the meat has come from abroad is a shameful but entirely legal, dodgy practice.

Selling a chicken dinner "produced in the UK" with poor poultry from Thailand always stuck in the throat. The last thing confused consumers want is a chicken calling itself British because that's the last place the last 'substantial change' was made.

Now Tesco Town has promised to end 'misleading' labelling on its meat products, and declare where it comes from and where so-called 'meat' in ready meals, pizza, pie and sausages is reared.

Spelling out the country of origin comes after pressure from farming groups and the Tories Honest Food campaign.

Every little helps. The Orange Party liked the way the Tories took a few populist issues and worked them up into campaigns back in February. A bit local LibDem 'cracked pavements and dog shit' issues politics but hey, why not, if consumers get a bit of benefit.

Tesco reckoned its Dutch pork or Thai chicken was up to scratch, with animal welfare standards just as high as UK farms. That's not the point. If you put something in your mouth you have a right to know where it's been.

Besides, as the Telegraph points out, evidence submitted to foodie MPs suggested two thirds of all pork imports into the UK, "has not been reared to UK statutory welfare standards and would be illegal if produced in this country".

Politicians occasionally fall over themselves to get a slice of the bacon and bang the drum for Britain. But getting them to do something about bad food Britain and the ravaged farming and fishing industries is a different kettle of fish.

Farmers are bogged down by Brussels red tape, a supermarket stranglehold on prices, a government which doesn't give a fig about the industry and competition from imported crap food dressed up and processed by slave labour in the food processing camps. All served up and forced down the nation's throats to make them fat.

The New Labour sandwich of all style and no substance has been around long before Joanna Blythmam launched her gastronomic polemic and showed how a nation has ruined its appetite in Bad Food Britain.

Tories spotted a gap in the market, outflanking a wishy-washy government. The cute video released to coincide with the Honest Food campaign was a little gem.

All supermarkets have a confusing mix of meat labelling. Consumers have a right to clear, accurate information about where their food comes from. Cheap food is one thing but cheap tricks quite another.

Read More...

British Food For British Politicians

Foodies and farmers are having a field day with politicians falling over themselves to get a slice of the bacon and bang the drum for Britain. 

But how much is this a pathetic attempt to jump on the Jamie bandwagon and how much a realistic attempt to finally do something about bad food Britain and the ravaged farming industry?

Not one to miss a trick, environment secretary, Hilary Benn told the National Farmers' Union in Birmingham: "I'm very proud of what British farming does for our country. Farmers do so much for the environment out of love of the land."

What utter patronising nonesense. Farmers are trying to make a living just like everyone else. 

They're bogged down by Brussels red tape, a supermarket stranglehold  on prices, a government which doesn't give a fig about the industry and competition from imported crap food dressed up and processed by slave labour in the food processing camps. Then forced down the nation's throats to make them fat. 

That has been the problem every since Joanna Blythmam first launched her gastronomic polemic and showed how a nation had ruined its appetite in Bad Food Britain. Benn may be trying to hang out his environmental credentials but it is those issues which need to be addressed. 

Latching onto the current craze, whipped up by Jamie Oliver's Buy British and Save our Bacon is an admirable cause and one to be encouraged. But how does that square with a government obsessed by protectionism and the justified fear of a rising spectre of economic nationalism? 

Not questions asked in France, Italy or in any other EU country. Both France and Italy lead the pack, fighting the corner for the consumer and their farming industry, with food an essential part of the terroir. 

But in both those countries the farming industry and the consumer are powerful voices which politicians ignore at their peril, unlike an industry and public here, who have been brow-beaten into submission. 

Words and platitudes are not the answer. To their credit, the Tories have been quick to spot this gap in the market with a spot of realism outflanking a wishy washy government response.

It's a simple mater of labelling. How can you trust something that's got a Union Flag plastered on it when the tiny print tells you it is only produced and packed in Britain, not British born and bred. 

People have a right to know where their food comes from. The Conservatives are promoting a refreshing and what seems to be a totally honest campaign called 'Honest Food'. Whatever your politics, the video released to coincide with the campaign is a little gem.

Read More...