Does requiring food imports meet UK standards harm poorer nations?
Rohit Parakh, Landworkers’ Alliance
During discussions on the Agriculture Bill, which has now received royal assent, the Government and its MPs regularly made the argument that requiring food imports meet UK standards will harm poorer nations – in fact, the opposite is true – ensuring that imports of food meet UK standards would not only benefit the health of UK citizens and our environment but would also help to deliver multiple benefits in nations that wish to export food products to the UK.
As an example, there are already strong movements in countries around the world supporting agroecological modes of food production. As well as being good for the environment, they have also proven to be capable of providing high yields, safer working conditions for farmers and farm workers, safer food produce and better animal welfare conditions. A decade ago, a report by the then UN Special Rapporteur on Right to Food found that 286 agriculture projects covering 12.6 million farms in 57 countries increased productivity by 79% with an average increase of 116% in African countries, as a result of adopting agroecological techniques. [1]
As the UK transitions to a post-Brexit world, we have an opportunity to be a global leader and support developing countries make this transition towards better modes of food production with higher standards such as those embodied by agroecology. The examples below show how high trade standards have helped countries across the world set their own development agenda and pursue more environmentally friendly farming practices, gain increased market access for higher value products and tackle important public health dangers.
Punjab tightened its pesticide standards for basmati rice exports – As mentioned by MP Kerry McCarthy (Bristol East) during the discussions on Agriculture Bill in the House of Commons, Punjab – a state in India – banned 9 pesticides so it could boost its basmati rice exports to UK and EU.[2] Punjab has been at the hub of chemical-oriented farming in India, which nationwide witnessed more than 31,000 deaths caused by acute exposure to pesticides in 2019 – without accounting for chronic exposure effects of pesticides.[3] Punjab is now one of the states in India to have seen a reduction in pesticide consumption over the last 5 years. [4]
Namibia benefiting by setting standards for beef exports – In the beef export trade from Namibia, the existence of the only assurance scheme in Africa setting standards in hygiene, veterinary care and animal welfare has created a trusted, safe and healthy product and ensured that Namibia has grown into Africa’s largest exporter of beef to the European Union. [5]
Increasing organic banana exports from Dominican Republic and Ecuador – Quite a few MPs spoke about how countries like Dominican Republic would not be able to export bananas to the UK if they were asked to meet our standards. However, the reality is that organic banana exports from countries such as Dominican Republic and Ecuador have been increasing to the EU and would be further strengthened by the UK maintaining its high standards.[6] Ecuador is the largest exporter of bananas globally and organic banana imports to the EU increased nearly 15% from 654,000 tonnes to 749,000 tonnes between 2018 to 2019.[7]
Kenya aims to ban pesticides which are banned in the EU – Members of parliament in Kenya have been trying to get pesticides banned which are prohibited in the EU. This was in response to a public petition organised by local organisations which argued the prevalence of these pesticides posed a danger to public health and the environment.[8] These efforts have resulted in Kenya’s parliament asking its state agencies to conduct analysis of all pesticides in Kenya and ban those containing cancer-causing ingredients.[9]
Nigeria attempting to stop using chemicals on beans – Because of high pesticide residues on its bean crops, Nigeria’s exports to the EU were stopped. This has led Nigeria’s Agriculture and Rural Development Minister to push for stopping the use of chemicals on beans from a health, environmental and economic perspective.[10]
How can UK help developing countries through its trade policies?
Whilst the government is focusing on standards of imports, an immediate answer to helping developing countries lies in what the UK exports. If the UK wants to help developing countries, it must also ensure that it does not export products such as pesticides banned in UK. Double standards like this are happening today – paraquat is a herbicide banned for use in the UK, yet we still export it to countries like Mexico, India, Colombia, South Africa and Brazil.[11] Paraquat usage in India has caused hundreds of deaths in just one state – local doctors went on hunger-strike to raise attention to the situation and get the pesticide banned.[12] The European Union has recently agreed to stop exporting pesticides that it has banned for use in its own countries, the UK must follow suit.[13]
There is also recognition and increasing drive from governments, public and civil society organisations around the world that shifting towards agroecological farming will help to tackle the wider climate, nutrition and biodiversity crises. If the UK government use its trade policies to support this transition it can show real leadership through a modern approach to trade that delivers multiple benefits.
With the UK-hosted COP26 and COP15 in China on the horizon, we now have an opportunity to demonstrate global leadership and a vision for trade and food production with high standards that meets the challenges of today.
References:
[1] https://www2.ohchr.org/english/issues/food/docs/a-hrc-16-49.pdf
[2] https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2020-10-12/debates/23E1C827-D8C0-481D-9D97-40920456BBB4/AgricultureBill
[3] https://ncrb.gov.in/sites/default/files/ADSI_2019_FULL%20REPORT_updated.pdf
[4] https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/amritsar/state-pesticide-consumption-down-to-less-than-5k-tonnes/articleshow/77308909.cms
[5] http://boutique.oie.int/extrait/bowles783790.pdf
[6] https://ec.europa.eu/info/news/imports-organic-tropical-fruit-increased-eu-while-imports-organic-cereals-declined-2019-2020-jun-03_en
[7] https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/info/files/food-farming-fisheries/farming/documents/market-brief-organic-imports-june2020_en.pdf
[8] https://nation.africa/kenya/news/mp-wants-harmful-pesticide-banned-from-the-market-203068
[9] https://www.businessdailyafrica.com/bd/economy/parliament-orders-crackdown-on-toxic-farming-pesticides-2485914
[10] https://allafrica.com/stories/201811130236.html
[11] https://unearthed.greenpeace.org/2020/09/10/banned-pesticides-eu-export-poor-countries/
[12] https://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/agriculture/there-s-no-antidote-to-paraquat-herbicide-ban-it-odisha-docs-to-govt-66779
[13] https://unearthed.greenpeace.org/2020/10/15/eu-banned-pesticide-exports-public-eye/