Young farmer leads charge against US imports threat

A young British farmer issued a stark warning at a rally in London that the UK-US trade deal could open the floodgates to lower standard food imports and threaten the future of British farming.

Oli Fletcher, a 26-year-old farmer from Leicestershire and creator of the YouTube channel Farming Explained addressed crowds on Wednesday evening (17 September) at an event organised by Save British Farming (SBF).

In his speech, in Parliament Square, Westminster, Mr Fletcher warned that the UK’s food standards, public health, and food security must not be traded away in future trade deals.

See also: Is Trump’s fondness for US farmers truly reciprocal?

Oli Fletcher © Save British Farming

Representing SBF, he denounced US attempts to push chlorinated chicken and hormone-fed beef into the UK market as part of wider trade talks with prime minister Sir Keir Starmer.

“[President] Trump is here to refine his trade deal,” Mr Fletcher said. “We must make it absolutely clear – our food standards and our health are not on the table.”

He added: “British farmers won’t be able to compete with America’s processed slop. Our regulations are too strict, our standards too high. That’s something to be proud of – not traded away for cheap imports.”

The rally came amid rising concern in the UK’s agriculture and energy sectors following the announcement of a new UK-US ethanol import deal, which removed a 19% tariff on American bioethanol.

The agreement, described by US agriculture secretary Brooke Rollins as a “win-win”, has already forced Vivergo Fuels to close its plant in Hull.

Ensus, based on Teesside, has entered urgent talks with the government over its future.

But campaigners warned that the bigger threat lies in food and farming.

Mr Fletcher cautioned that surrendering control of food production could leave the UK dangerously dependent on US supply chains. “They will have us by the neck,” he said.

Public health data added weight to the warning, with one in six Americans suffering from foodborne illnesses annually, compared to one in 66 in the UK.

Joint letter to PM

The NFU and Dairy UK also urged the Labour government to resist pressure to open the UK food market further.

In a joint letter sent this week to prime minister Sir Keir Starmer, they warned that increasing US access could destabilise UK dairy farming.

However, the UK government told Farmers Weekly that chlorinated chicken and hormone-fed beef would not form part of any trade deal with the US.

“We have always been clear that this government will protect British farmers and uphold our high animal welfare and environmental standards. That is exactly what we have done,” said a spokesman.

“Our Plan for Change has delivered a deal which will open up exclusive access for UK beef farmers to the US market for the first time ever, and all agricultural imports coming to the UK will have to meet our high SPS [sanitary and phytosanitary] standards.”