It seems a nonsense to me that every item of clothing I am wearing states its country of origin on a stitched in label. I’m afraid to say they come from less than glamorous locations -my favourite fuchsia pink cardi from M & S was made in Vietnam, while my black Wallis skirt was stitched up in Romania. My crisp white shirt had an exotic start in Malaysia while my stunning 
black leather belt was shipped all the way here from India.
Yet none of the food in my fridge is labelled with its country of origin, which surely the consumer deserves to know. So I very much welcome Conservative’s “Honest Food” campaign urging the government to make food labelling totally transparent regarding country of origin.
Under current rules, meat imported from abroad and processed into products like bacon, sausages and pies in Britain can be labelled as ‘British’. It’s a total farce.
It is hugely important we are informed because at the moment, meat from animals reared abroad is often done so in conditions that are illegal in the UK. Yet it can be brought to the UK for processing and then be packaged as British. Keep up the good work on this Jamie!
This is an issue my MEP Robert Sturdy is actively promoting in the European Parliament and feels very strongly about. Incidentally, I don’t see why Westminster and Euro MPs don’t join together during high profile campaigns like this when they are working together to achieve a shared objective, especially with a Euro election looming up. It would help explain the work they do and the impact it has on people’s daily lives.
Food for thought perhaps…
It’s an excellent move that will be received well by all Conservatives who want to make informed choices about their food.
The current situation is appalling, but I’m sure the EU will put the brakes on Cameron’s food labelling plans.
I welcome that news too. I would much rather know where my food has come from.
I know I avoid anything made in China.
Yes, it is time that this is sorted. I used to be Secretary to a wool textile lobby group and we campaigned for ages re the clothes labelling – so that people could easily buy British. They didn’t choose to and the British textile industry has all by died out. But times have changed and people do want to buy local food – or at least to know its true origin so they can make decisions.
I do always try to buy British (or at least local) but like you say many products labelled British were not farmed here at all.
The only way you can be sure of the origins is buying from the farmshop etc but that is out of many people’s price range. I do tend to – just so I know and because I can afford to.
I must take a look at food labelling here in Australia. I’m not sure what the rules are here.
I agree – we really do need to know – and care – where our food comes from. I always tryand buy local if I can…
I agree completely. My argument is that whilst politicians champion global trade that invariably means importing cheap goods, more often than not made by methods long outlawed in this country (child labour/animal welfare) and these cheap goods put our manufacturers and farms out of business.
Then you get politicians pitying the poor on welfare and saying they need cheap goods. Well if they had a job they wouldn’t need handouts!