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<blockquote type=cite class=cite cite=""><br><br>
<font size=5><b>It’s vital that the UK Gov hears from as many people as
possible before 26th Feb, when this consultation ends. <br>
</b></font><div align="center"><br>
</div>
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</a><br><br>
Millions of people across the globe are
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inhaling innumerable mixtures of toxic herbicides and pesticides</a> that
are repeatedly sprayed on crops near their homes throughout every year.
In the UK, for 30 years, Georgina Downs has suffered from acute and
chronic adverse health effects from pesticides being sprayed near her
home. To expose the government's fundamental failure to protect rural
residents from agricultural pesticides, she started the
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UK Pesticides Campaign</a> in 2001. In her petition -
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which you can sign</a> - she says:<br>
<br>
“<i>No pesticide should ever have been approved for use in the locality
of residents' homes, schools, children's playgrounds, amongst other such
areas.” And continues. “The most common chronic long-term effects,
illnesses and diseases reported to my campaign from residents living in
the locality of crop sprayed fields include neurological conditions such
as Parkinson's disease, Motor Neurone Disease, and neurological damage,
as well as various cancers, especially those of the breast and brain,
leukaemia, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, amongst many other chronic
conditions.</i>”<br><br>
In light of these dangers from pesticide use, please fill in the
<a href="https://farmsnotfactories.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=62434df9a66146b4fb4f8b14e&id=6c516a5c45&e=cee5793cb2">
DEFRA consultation on the National Action Plan for the Sustainable Use of
Pesticides</a>. The bad news is that the <b>deadline is the 26th of
Feb</b> i.e. this Friday - tomorrow! The questions imply that pesticides
are a fact of life so it’s a challenge to change the narrative but give
it a try and if you need help cut and paste in our responses to each
question provided here:<br><br>
<a href="https://farmsnotfactories.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=62434df9a66146b4fb4f8b14e&id=1e1605730a&e=cee5793cb2">
The Consultation</a>
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Template Responses</a><br><br>
<h3><b>💬 Lords passionately debate the Trade Bill</b></h3><br><br>
On 23 February members of the House of Lords debated
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vital amendments to the Trade Bill</a> (to watch it fast forward to
1.32pm) that would allow parliament to scrutinise trade bills before they
are ratified. The Lords voted against this amendment but in favour of
another amendment (voting 376 to 214) to suspend trade deals with
governments committing genocide. This will now go back to be debated and
voted on in the Commons.<br><br>
Jean Blaylock, Campaigns and Policy Manager at Global Justice Now,
commented on the debate; “<i>Trade democracy fizzled out of the Trade
Bill on Tuesday, when peers withdrew the last attempt at an amendment
that would have improved parliamentary scrutiny of trade deals. This
leaves the current rubber stamp process of approval through the CRAG Act
which does not require a vote. If no one objects to a trade deal within a
time limit, it is passed, and there is no process set out for objecting.
<br>
</i><br>
<i>The government minister, Grimstone, said in the debate that he could
not envisage a Trade Deal being passed without a debate, if a debate had
been requested by a parliamentary committee ‘in a timely fashion’.
It’s hardly the strongest reassurance in the world, and a debate does
not necessarily mean there will be a vote. Plus of course again the
government is saying ‘just trust us’ and is refusing to write it into
law. Other peers started referring to this as the ‘Grimstone rule’
and say they will keep him to his word, but it’s a flimsy thing to rely
on.<br>
</i><br>
<i>However thousands of campaigners calling for trade democracy has
totally changed the conversation about this in parliament.”<br>
</i><br>
<h3><b>🚜 NFU conference</b></h3><br><br>
By undermining parliamentary scrutiny and MPs’ ability to vote on trade
treaties, the government can ensure companies are free to comb the globe
for cheapest labour, lowest environmental laws and poorest standards at
work and thereby out-compete farmers with higher standards. It is against
this corporate take over of food and farming that the Indian farmers have
staged the
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biggest ever farmers demonstration</a> outside Delhi. They want the
Indian government to continue to guarantee a fair price for their
produce. However, Modi, Truss, Johnson and Gates, to name but a few
powerful neoliberals, want monoculture, machines, chemicals, GMOs, gene
editing and high tech to replace farmers and to transport their toxic
food to lucrative markets across the globe. Amongst the line up of
politicians who spoke at the NFU annual conference yesterday, Liz Truss,
Secretary of State for International Trade,
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true to her neoliberal narrative</a>, announced the government's new plan
for farming businesses to grow;<br><br>
“<i>seizing our freedom to deepen our trade worldwide from the Americas
to the Asia-Pacific, where fast-growing economies are set to dominate
global demand over the coming years.”<br>
</i><br>
The Trade and Agriculture Commission
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rhetoric at the NFU conference sounded genuine</a>, "<i>When we’re
negotiating with trade partners it will be clear from our report that if
food standards are important to UK consumers, they should be replicated
in any trade deal.</i>" As did DEFRA’s George Eustice’s
assurances of
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public money for public goods</a>’. However, neither the Commission nor
MPs have the power to protect our farmers by preventing the import of
goods produced below our standards of food quality, environmental
protection and animal welfare in any trade deal. Instead the government
is
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offering free advice to businesses and farmers</a> to take advantage of
the newly opened markets!<br><br>
<h3><b>🐖 Prices slashed to pick up pork glut</b></h3><br><br>
Many UK farmers voted for Brexit to protect their farming skills from
cheap EU imports that force them to get giant and mechanized or get out
of the industry. Today pig farmers are the victims of the volatility that
comes with distant markets and the perfect storm of disease, border chaos
and rising feed prices that has left a glut of pigs on British farms. A
Suffolk farmer says he is losing £10 per pig and cannot see how he can
stay in business. Morrisons have
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responded by giving customers irresistible price cuts for pork</a>,
saying it is their duty to help British farmers and clear the pork
mountain that has built up on British farms. Great for the short term but
better would be for the government to revitalise local markets that would
give small scale farmers a wider choice of buyers so they can demand a
price that covers their cost of production. And, as practiced in India,
reintroduce the UKs marketing boards, where the government negotiates a
fair price that covers their cost of production that retailers cannot
undercut.<br><br>
Authoritative voices in food and farming,
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not least the UNFAO</a>, see small scale farmers across the globe as the
only way to feed the world’s growing population.<br><br>
<h3><b>🚫 Faith groups condemn Big Ag</b></h3><br><br>
The most recent to raise their voice above the status quo global trade
parapet is the
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Southern African Faith Communities Institute</a> which said "<i>We
urge the Gates Foundation to stop pushing a green 'revolution' that
imposes technologies and seeds that are controlled by companies with
vested interests. Rather, it should be looking at and learning from
small-scale farmers from around the world who are working to build
alternative food systems that are socially just and ecologically
sustainable.</i>"<br><br>
Forgive me for pointing out that, while we receive some one-off
donations, I am funding Farms Not Factories myself, and if we are to
continue to fight the cruel, antibiotic-led factory farm system, we will
need some regular donations from like-minded people. Please consider a
monthly subscription of £2/month and help us support a network of
smaller scale, humane and healthy UK pig farms, local abattoirs and
butchers.<br><br>
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<br><br>
<b>Tracy Worcester, </b>Director<br>
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