Pigs

The 1997 ban on sow stalls and tethers has led to a reduction in efficiency and increased costs. 

Sow herds have dropped from 789,000 to 468,000 over the last 10 years.

Imports of pig meat have grown from 362,000 to 738,000 tonnes and much of it is from countries where sow stalls are permitted.

Poultry

Imports of broiler chicken meat have jumped from 1,000 to 70,000 tonnes in the last 10 years.  

How confident can we be that animal health and welfare overseas would be acceptable under British regulation?

Dairy

Prof Colman of Manchester University believes that milk production could fall by 1 billion litres a year by 2008 leading to a significant rise in imports. 

Fruit and vegetables

The planted area of all fruit and vegetables in the Uk was:

1994 – 476,000 acres
2004 –  373,000 acres
A decline of 22 per cent

The value of all imported fruit and vegetables was:

1994 – £1,984,251,000
2004 – £3,169,034,000
Source: Defra

Beef:

The national beef industry was 109 per cent self sufficient 10 years ago but in 2004 it had fallen to 71 per cent. 

For more information please read these articles:

The agricultural think tank
Henry Fell
Conclusions of The Commercial Farmers Group