A ban on foreign food suppliers with poor hygiene should be added to the agriculture bill to prevent future pandemics, farming experts have said.
The bill, which is set to outline our animal welfare and ecological standards in farming post-Brexit, is having its third reading in Parliament today.
It is thought that many animal diseases are likely to spread to humans through deforestation for agriculture, which means animals such as bats interact with humans and allow diseases to “jump'” and the intensive farming of pigs, which can become “mixing vessels” for disease.
The Soil Association has argued that the bill should ban these farms from our supply chain and we should only trade with partners who employ robust animal welfare and hygeine.
Gareth Morgan, Soil Association Head of Farming & Land Use Policy told The Telegraph: “There is a strong suggestion at the moment emerging that encroachment into major natural habitats is potentially one possible vector that animal viruses are coming into the human population.”
Craig Bennett, CEO of The Wildlife Trusts said the bill is a chance to protect the environment and enhance food security.
