General Chat

Blind trust is rarely repaid best to do a little checking. Supermarkets do not have an outstanding record.

Bad treatment of animals and poultry at slaughterhouses tends to result in serious hygiene problems in the food chain. There have been 40 000 such incidents in UK abbatoirs in the last two years - agreed self regulation is not working. Hence the decision to implement live cctv from 2018 at all 278 locations.

Of course less trauma to poultry and animals is a popular measure but money is the driving reason. A visit to even a humane slaughterhouse would prob convert most of the posters here to being veggies.

Unless the powers that be get their act together in a hurry brexit is going to cause chaos and ruin to our farming industry.

Caroline, do you really think that businesses put all that money into the Brexit campaign in order to have tougher regulations?

Minimal sentences handed out to miserable miscreants who abuse any animal rarely deter further maltreatment.

The line between barbarism & civilisation is very thin - and melting away like the ice-cap.

We used to have inspectors - Food Safety Inspectors - who regularly turned up at abattoirs/restaurants etc to check cleanliness/safety/correct procedures were in place, but funding for Health & Safety was cut by over a third in 2014/2015, and the focus was moved to inspecting 'high risk' sites, such as energy, nuclear sites and chemical industries.

So building sites - where shoddy workmanship can affect the lives of innocent passers by, restaurants and food production - where many people can be affected, and control of what food enters this country have taken a back seat., all for a few quid!!

Apparently, 'Simplifying and codifying Health and Safety laws will help employers spend less time on tick box exercises, and more time focussing on growing their businesses'

At the same time, legal aid for employees wanting to sue their employers was cut.
So, a workman can fall off scaffolding due to proper procedures not taking place (there was no-one to check) and not afford to get compensation from their employer for bad practice.

As one who has taken pigs to a slaughterhouse it was not a nice experience. That started in the holding yards where animals were clearly distressed. (That was in Cambridgeshire)

After that we used a slaughterer who used the facilities on his own farm to kill, hang and butcher the meats to our requirements. (That was in West Wales). This was observed by our very young children.

I killed our own chickens when required.

I rarely buy prepared foods because I know what goes into them and I'm not in control of additives or the quality of the ingredients.

However I'm lucky to have the time many working families don't and they should be able to trust they aren't being poisoned or ingesting mechanically recovered usually inedible meat, sinew and other bits we would leave on the bone and throw away.

Kense are you really expecting everything to grind to a halt because of Brexit? I don't know exactly what the future will bring any more than you do, but I do know there will still be laws and regulations. What makes anyone so sure those laws and regulations will be worse than before Brexit?

Caroline should look up what the EU directives mean by "third countries".
All the regulatory equivalence and Great Repeal Bills I the world will not change the fact that the day after brexit the UK will become a third country. Trade and commerce as have been usual for 40 years will simply seize up.

There is no time left to get a trade treaty agreed such that the UK has little choice than to request an extension. Hammond's idea of three years is tight and then only possible with max goodwill and a successful exit Treaty. Moreover any extension would rest on the realistic prospect of a Trade Treaty which would demand recognition of the Ecj for trade resolution, lock step with most EU law and freedom of movement. Which is about where we came in.

So far May, Fox and Bojo have been going in the opposite direction. Taken in conjunction with the desolation of all areas of domestic policy and an approaching financial hurricane the tenure of May's govt looks very weak.

Does "taking back Control" really have to mean handing it to China and Ulster thugs aling with large bribes? surely not.

As a mere mortal, I have no seeing eye into the future, but I do know that if Rollo ever says anything remotely positive about the UK future hell will freeze over!

There are very many good things about the UK. There are some marvellous things.
There are some very bad things too but nowhere near as many. Moreover these things are recognised as bad or even evil and a lot of effort is going into change for the better.

There is no upside to brexit whatsoever.
It is an unmitigated disaster which does not even succeed in its own terms.
It is totally at odds with British foreign policy and science & the arts since 1688.

It has imposed a black noxious cloud over every aspect of the nation's life.

Flight or fight?

Oh flight for sure....

Can I just say, apart from article 50 being invoked, some childish comments, blustering and hot air, b*gger all has changed!!

Nothing has happened - apart from a few insults being thrown and various members of the Government coming out with 'statements' which were immediately contradicted.
No-one has come forward with a plan.
They're all on a jolly nice long holiday.
We received the bad eggs due to pre-Brexit cuts, and abattoirs have been hell holes since they were centralised and inspections cut.