10/11/21 - Food labelling, earthworm abundance and COP26 sustainable farming pledge

Farming Today

• Episode: 10/11/21 - Food labelling, earthworm abundance and COP26 sustainable farming pledge
• Website: Farming Today
• Feed URL: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006qj8q/episodes/downloads.rss
• Duration: 00:13:41
• Published: 2021-11-10 07:00

The issue over food standards and trade has re-surfaced after the farming minister told MPs that the Government would not take up a recommendation made in the National Food Strategy to set ‘minimum standards’ on animal welfare and environmental protection. The author of the Government’s National Food Strategy, Henry Dimbleby, has accused the Government of rejecting his advice. The farming minister Victoria Prentis told MPs on the International Trade Committee that although some standards are already set in law not everything can be covered by legislation. But she suggested other options - including food labelling - could be used to protect standards. Earthworms are one key barometer of soil health. As part of our week-long focus on cultivation, we head out into the fields with a worm expert, to find out how they're impacted by different cultivation methods. And the UK has led 45 countries around the world to sign up to more sustainable farming methods. They made the pledge at COP26, the International Climate Change summit in Glasgow. The measures include commitments to stop de-forestation, cut methane emissions, and invest in climate-resilient crops and new techniques for regenerating soil. The UK will also launch a £65 million “Just Rural Transition” programme to help developing countries move towards more sustainable methods of agriculture and food production. Presented by Anna Hill Produced for BBC Audio in Bristol by Heather Simons