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Turkey Farming
6. Mr. Cohen: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what plans he has to improve the standards in turkey farming. [16102]
- The Minister of State, Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (
Mr. Tony Baldry): We are currently considering recommendations from the Farm Animal Welfare Council for changes that will build on the protection already offered by legislation and welfare codes.
Mr. Cohen: Does not the selective breeding of turkeys result in male birds suffering from congenital hip disorders and enduring chronic pain? Do not 2.5 million birds die in their sheds each year? Is there not a case for urgent reform of current turkey farming practices, and do not Agriculture Ministers deserve stuffing for allowing those bad practices?
Mr. Baldry: The hon. Gentleman rather spoilt what was obviously a serious observation by his trite comment at the end. Of course it is important that high animal welfare standards be maintained and improved. The Farm Animal Welfare Council reported last year on the welfare of turkeys and made several recommendations. If anyone had evidence to support the hon. Gentleman's contentions, that evidence would have been made available to the council. We have been taking careful note of the subsequent comments of the industry and of animal welfare organisations, and we shall publish our response shortly.
Mr. Congdon: I welcome what my hon. Friend said about the need to ensure that turkey farming is carried out as humanely as possible. Should we not also recognise how successful the industry has been in rearing turkeys that represent such excellent value for money for the British consumer?
Mr. Baldry: My hon. Friend makes an excellent point. The price of turkey in supermarkets and elsewhere has been coming down over the years, which is of considerable benefit to the consumer and reflects considerable credit on the British turkey industry.
Nutritious Food
7. Mr. Mackinlay: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what measures he proposes to increase appreciation of and access to nutritious food. [16103]
Mrs. Browning: The range of foodstuffs available today is such that everyone should be able to select an interesting, enjoyable and nutritious diet of their choice. My Department provides information and advice to assist people to do so.
Mr. Mackinlay: But not everyone can. Has not the Minister's own nutrition task force drawn attention to the high rate of heart disease in this country, and to the fact that by the year 2005 a quarter of women and one in five men will suffer from severe obesity unless there is a change in dietary habits and a greater awareness of the problems caused by eating junk food? Do the Government not have an obligation to ensure that the poorest and most disadvantaged people have access to the most nutritious food, and that the food industry is taken to task to make it label foods properly and give proper advice and guidance? Leadership should come from the Government to protect the health of the people of this country.
Mrs. Browning: The nutrition task force low income project team--I think that is the group to which the hon. Gentleman referred--has produced a report, which we shall publish soon. The MAFF national food survey, which has been in operation since 1940, regularly monitors the diet of a full cross-section at all levels of income. The problems of obesity and heart disease that the hon. Gentleman mentioned are indeed important, and they are among the targets of "The Health of The Nation" White Paper. We believe that it is excess fat in the diet that causes the problem, and people do not necessarily have to spend a lot to eat a diet that is nutritious and does not contain excessive fat. [Interruption.] The hon. Gentleman is pulling a rather funny face. I shall show him two booklets that MAFF produced, which give guidelines for a balanced diet. Some of the eight guidelines are:
- "enjoy your food; eat a variety of different foods"--
such as pasta and rice, which are very low cost, and vegetables, although not only the most expensive ones--
If the hon. Gentleman requests more details, I should be very happy to send him, and any other hon. Member, a copy of our advice.
Mr. Fabricant:
May I invite my hon. Friend to take a motoring tour with me around Europe? Behind our car we will have a refrigerated trailer that will contain apples from Kent, gooseberries from Worcestershire and best British beef from Staffordshire. When we get to Europe, we will stop off in the Champs Elysees, or the Grand Place in Brussels, and have a picnic. The fine British food will be appreciated not only by us, because we shall invite some of the Europeans to try it too. They will see that British food is not only nutritious; it is a darn sight better than French horse or--come to that--French golden delicious apples.
Mrs. Browning:
My hon. Friend is attempting to flag up, quite rightly, the excellent regional foods for which this country is rightly proud. I must say that, as I was sitting on the Front Bench when my hon. Friend extended to me his very generous invitation, I received a message from the Whips which said, "Don't you dare."
8. Mr. Alan W. Williams:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on the imports and exports of dairy products. [16104]
Mr. Baldry:
Over the past 10 years, the value of UK dairy exports has increased twice as much as imports and, in real terms, the UK's trade deficit in dairy products has been cut by 26 per cent.
Mr. Williams:
In my constituency, Andrew Dare, the chief executive of Milk Marque, recently pointed out that the value per tonne of imported dairy products is 40 per cent. greater than the goods that we export. What can the Government and the dairy industry do to boost added value in the dairy industry so that we move upmarket--to such items as yoghurts, desserts and fine cheeses--for import displacement and to improve that export performance
Mr. Baldry:
That is exactly what is happening. I think that the hon. Gentleman has somehow got the situation the wrong way around. Since deregulation, we are seeing high-value milk products for export; there is no longer an incentive for processors to put milk into such low-value products as skim milk or into butter for intervention. We are seeing a very substantial increase in the value of our exports, which have increased by some 126 per cent. What is happening is what the hon. Gentleman wants to happen.
Mr. Tredinnick:
Does my hon. Friend agree that the reason why Britain is not 100 per cent self-sufficient in milk quotas can be directly attributed to the failure of the previous Labour Government? The base that was set in 1981 was influenced by the depression caused by that former Labour Government.
Mr. Baldry:
The Opposition might not like it, but the reason why we are not self-sufficient in milk products is that, during the late 1970s, the agrimonetary policy that was followed by the former Labour Government disadvantaged this country. That policy meant that, when milk quotas were introduced, this country was not self-sufficient.
9. Mr. Clapham:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many representations he has received concerning the welfare of calves in the last two years. [16105]
Mr. Douglas Hogg:
The answer is: many.
Mr. Clapham:
I am grateful for that answer, because it reflects the British public's great concern. Does the Minister share my view that it is unacceptable that calves which are exported from the UK are put into veal crates that are so cruel that they were banned in the UK in 1990? Will the Minister stop the trade if the current judicial review, which has been called by animal welfare organisations, demonstrates that he has the power to do so?
Mr. Hogg:
I am rather surprised that the hon. Gentleman did not give credit to the Conservative Government. First, the UK ban was introduced by the Conservative Government--not by anybody else. Secondly, the fact that the European Union is, at this very moment, discussing the proposals for banning veal crates is due primarily to the hard work that my right hon. Friend the Chief Secretary did over a number of years to bring this discussion before the Council and the Commission. We are pressing the matter exceedingly hard, and the hon. Gentleman should give credit where credit is due.
Dr. Strang:
Does the Minister recall that his predecessor proclaimed that the days of the veal crate were numbered? However, more than 400 days later, we are still exporting calves into relative darkness to be malnourished and reared in crates in which they cannot turn around. Will the Minister answer this question: is it true that he has said that, even if European law permits it, he will not act to prevent the export of calves into continental veal crates?
Mr. Hogg:
I shall make two points. First, I find it astonishing that the hon. Gentleman should ever raise this subject. Let us not forget that the matter was discussed in 1975 and, on a free vote, the hon. Gentleman, who was then an agriculture spokesman, voted to resume the export of live animals, even though the right hon. John Silkin, the future Minister, voted the other way. It is a clear case of members of the Labour Front-Bench team saying one thing, but doing another.
"eat the right amount . . . eat plenty of foods rich in starch and fibre".
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