M&S, Ocado and Waitrose are the latest supermarkets to say they will not sell American beef in a major boost for British farmers.
The well-heeled grocers told the Mail they will stick with British meat and have no plans to start stocking any beef imported from the US.
They join Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda, Morrisons, Aldi, Lidl and the Co-op in saying they will not compromise on their commitment to British farmers and animal welfare standards.
The pledge comes as UK and US negotiators thrash out the details of last week’s outline agreement on trade.
The proposed deal will see the US cut tariffs on British cars from 27.5 per cent to 10 per cent and slash the levy on steel and aluminium to zero.
It would also allow up to 13,000 tons of US beef to be imported into Britain tariff-free.
Boost for British farmers: M&S, Ocado and Waitrose are the latest supermarkets to say they will not sell American beef
That has sparked fears that the UK could be flooded with meat from the US.
And although the Government has insisted imports of hormone-treated beef or chlorinated chicken will remain illegal, there are fears food standards could be watered down in a bid to appease Donald Trump. But supermarkets this week distanced themselves from the US.
M&S, Waitrose and Ocado yesterday said all beef, milk, pork, salmon, chicken, fresh lamb and eggs will continue to be 100 per cent British. Alex Freudmann, managing director of food at M&S, said: ‘We are committed to supporting a vibrant and sustainable British farming sector.
‘We partner with our 9,500 UK Select farmers and growers, which means we work side-by-side and speak to them every day to uphold the highest standards in the industry and bring delicious, quality British food to our customers.’
Jake Pickering, head of agriculture at Waitrose, said its products were sourced ‘from British farmers to high welfare standards’. He added: ‘We want to reassure Waitrose customers that we will never compromise on our number one animal welfare standards or our long-standing commitment to British farming. We’re standing shoulder-to-shoulder with our farmers and backing better standards.’
A spokesman for Ocado added that they will ‘continue sourcing from British farmers and prioritise bringing their brilliant produce to our customers’.
Tesco boss Ken Murphy this week insisted Britain’s largest supermarket was ‘not planning to change’ its policy of sourcing 100 per cent Irish and British beef. Murphy also told attendees at the World Retail Congress this week that British farming is ‘under unprecedented strain’.
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This article was originally published by a www.dailymail.co.uk . Read the Original article here. .