UK prime minister Boris Johnson has dismissed concerns about importing genetically modified food from the US after Brexit, saying a trade deal with the US will be “governed by science”.
In a speech outlining his Brexit trade plans, Johnson said the UK would not accept a “diminution of standards” on food hygiene or animal welfare, and called for an end to “hysterical” fears about US products coming to the UK.
“I look at the Americans, they look pretty well nourished to me. And I don’t hear any of these critics of American food coming back from the United States and complaining. So let’s take some of the paranoia out of this argument”, Johnson said.
His comments pave the way for the UK to introduce some US practices, such as genetically modified food. Environmental organisations were quick to reject them, saying: “What he labels ‘mumbo-jumbo’ is not anti-American at all, it is rather a deep-seated opposition to allowing the import of meat made in atrocious conditions, GM foods, higher medicine prices, cancer-causing chemicals, and handing over vast swathes of our society to big business.”
Johnson’s spokesman previously said it was time to “start now to liberate the UK’s extraordinary bioscience sector from anti-genetic modification rules”.
“We won’t accept chlorinated chicken in our supermarkets or Boris Johnson selling out our animal welfare, food and environmental protections in a bid for a trade deal with Donald Trump”, warned Labour MP Luke Pollard.
