TTIPfood&farming

TTIP - likely impacts on FOOD and FARMING

TTIP – Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (under negotiation between EU and US)

US Department Of Agriculture TAFTA/TTIP Study: Small Gains For US, Losses For EU - Glyn Moody in Techdirt, 4jan16. A technical summary of an even more technical report, but useful because it's based on thorough analysis. Glyn concludes that "the new study not only confirms that the economic benefits of TAFTA/TTIP are vanishingly small overall, but suggests that the EU's agricultural sector will actually be worse off under the deal than it is now without it."
What will TTIP mean for European farmers? - David Margolies of StopTTIPuk writes on the above report in lowimpact.org, 5jan16. LowImpact's position on TTIP is that it "will only benefit the corporate sector, at the expense of small farmers. We’ll be helping to support US mega-factory-farms and abattoirs that process 1300 pigs per hour. We don’t want that – we want to support small farmers producing for local markets".
And a brief summary referring to the same report, by an Irish MEP:
EU Agriculture would be gross losers in TTIP Agreement - Anderson MEP - Farming Life, 26dec15.

TTIP: The downfall of EU agriculture? EurActiv 11jan16, by Dario Sarmadi translated by Samuel Morgan. "A new study has concluded that TTIP threatens to completely change the way small and medium sized farms operate, through the use of more genetic engineering and more hormone-treated meat." Conclusion of study: ""TTIP, in its proposed form, strengthens the position of the large agri-food companies, which already overcome trade barriers through the location of its production centres.""... ""No one can produce products like cereal as cheaply as the USA," ... "European farmers are, economically speaking, outgunned (...) it would mean the almost automatic downfall of parts of the agricultural sector."". And here is a summary by Molly Scott Cato MEP for SW England: "More evidence that TTIP is a corporate charter primarily aimed at benefiting large US agri-business. It poses a serious threat to rural livelihoods and communities and to our precious countryside which depends on a successful farming sector."

TTIP - a threat to farmers and food

letter to Westmorland Gazette by Henry Adams, a member of STOP TTIP South Lakes

Here is a pdf of the letter as published in the Westmorland Gazette

The viability of most Cumbria farmers would be threatened if they are undercut by cheaper food imports from US industrial-scale farming. This could become a reality if politicians continue to ignore the consequences of TTIP – the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership under negotiation between the EU and the US. And our food safety is also under threat.

So well done Jamie Oliver for challenging Vince Cable about TTIP: “to tell him my massive concerns about any possibility of the UK's and Europe's Food standards being compromised .... We have fought long and hard to get where we are today and I really don't want feed lot beef with growth hormones … nor chickens washed with chlorine, or food produced with banned pesticides and additives to name but a few and I certainly don't want our farmers undermined.” [quote from Jamie’s Instagram]

He is right to raise this because the US has fewer and weaker regulations on food and farming standards than the UK and EU, and thus any compromise on these in TTIP will level down our regulatory standards towards those of the US, thus exposing our farmers to competition from cheaper industrial-scale US food products that are currently banned by our tougher regulations.

Deregulation is already happening alongside the ongoing TTIP negotiations, so as to help ‘harmonize’ EU regulations with those of the US, and to comply with lobbying pressure to put profit before our health and safety and environment. An example is the recent relaxation of the EU-wide restrictions on the import and use of GM. This trend is hardly surprising, as the EU Commission’s meetings with big business lobbyists have outnumbered those with public interest groups by 20 to 1, with agribusiness such as the pesticides and GM industry having had the most meetings. In contrast, democratic involvement has been suppressed, despite well over a million people signing a petition to stop TTIP.

Also the US is openly pushing for the removal the EU’s precautionary principle – which puts the onus on a company to show that its product such as a pesticide is safe before it’s released onto the market, whereas in the US a product is allowed onto the market unless government can prove it is unsafe - which can result in the public being the “guinea pigs”.

The leaflet ‘‘TTIP - recipe for disaster’’, from a respected group of NGOs, neatly summarizes how TTIP would impact on food and farming: "TTIP will promote the industrial model of food and farming, further threatening the survival of small family farms, local food initiatives, standards for healthy and safe food, animal welfare, the environment, and public health". For more information & references: www.bit.ly/TTIPfarming

Do ask prospective parliamentary candidates how they will ensure food and farming standards are not eroded by TTIP to allow in cheaper and less safe food products that would unfairly undercut local farmers and threaten our health. Be suspicious of any hollow complacent “reassurances”, such as those from coalition government ministers – who are very pro-TTIP. The Green Party is against TTIP.

Dr Henry Adams, a Kendal member of STOP TTIP South Lakes, with help from a local farmer - Bill Grayson.

Link to main web-page for STOP TTIP South Lakes

FoE's submission to the EAC parliamentary select committee on the environmental impacts of TTIP refers to impacts on food standards: HERE in html and HERE as pdf.

15apr15 news update: Since I wrote the above, FoE Europe and others have written 'Open letter on TTIP blocking urgently needed reforms in food safety, farm production, workers' rights and animal welfare' which is well worth reading.

Further information on impacts of "Free Trade Agreements" (FTA's) and "Bilateral Investment Treaties" (BIT's) on food and farming world-wide can be obtained from Henry Adams' resource page here: www.dragonfly1.plus.com/FTA_threats.html#foodfarming << you may need to scroll down a little to reach the topic heading