Farming Today

04/11/21 Meat sent to EU for butchering, farming unions at COP26, bracken for fuel

Farming Today

In today's programme, Charlotte Smith gets an update on livestock and emissions, and why British meat is being butchered abroad. The British Meat Processors Association says some pig and cattle carcasses are now being exported to be processed and then imported back into the UK. A shortage of butchers means meat processing plants are taking fewer than usual in the UK, causing a backlog of pigs on farms. It was farmers' day at the COP26 climate conference yesterday, with lots of lobby groups discussing the way forward for food and farming, as we move to reduce our emissions. We hear from the UK farming unions, and from Northern Ireland Agriculture Minister Edwin Poots, who aims to increase food production, including meat. All this week we’ve featured some of the projects around the country that show what can be done to farm more sustainably. Today we hear from Scilly, where islanders are developing a renewable fuel: logs made from bracken. Presented by Charlotte Smith and produced by Beatrice Fenton.

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