Amongst the chaos of lockdown, there is some good news. New figures released in May by WRAP, the food waste charity, show that domestic food waste has dropped up to 34% during lockdown. Consumers are also buying more fresh produce, more long life store cupboard products, whilst sales of pre-cut veg, salads and ready meals have reduced. These statistics suggest lockdown is creating healthier relationships with food. Read more…

Authorities in Wuhan, the epicentre of the coronavirus have banned the eating of wild animals and put tight controls on breeding and hunting. Putting these measures in place is a step towards reducing the chances of another coronavirus making the leap from animals to humans. Read more…

Boris Johnson performed a maddening U-turn on food standards last week, as the government now appears to be lining up a trade deal with the US that would allow imports of low-welfare chlorine-washed chicken and hormone-treated beef. Read more…

The government recently launched the UK Global Tariff, which superficially protects UK food producers, yet this can be negotiated away, alongside food standards, with each individual country. Read more…

These developments could lower the quality of food available in the UK, threaten our local producers, whilst alienating the EU, who want the UK to maintain high food standards after Brexit.

If you would like to support efforts to protect high standards in UK food, sign the following petitions and promote them on your social media channels to raise awareness:

• NFU calls for government to maintain high standards in sustainable food production and consumption
• Researchers petition Boris Johnson to uphold food standards to protect public health

Find more food issues related information from @GavinWren on Twitter.