Slow Food stands united with Slow Food in the UK

in its condemnation of Brexit’s consequences and calls on the negotiating parties to take these concerns into account

Just days ahead of the European Days of Action, when Europeans will unite to call for better food and farming across the continent, the Nations of Slow Food in the UK draw attention to the alarming consequences that Brexit will have for the UK’s food system, warning that no-deal Brexit may impose unprecedented adverse effects.

Slow Food is highly-concerned about the prospect of a no-deal Brexit and the widespread impact this will have on the UK’s food system, especially on the small-scale producers and vulnerable communities that are least equipped to deal with severe disruption.

Slow Food supports the call by the Nations of Slow Food in the UK to recognize the positive areas of pan-European cooperation and collaboration in areas such as bilateral, tariff-free trade, the free movement of labor, EU support for small producers, the maintenance of vital food safety standards, and the protection of rare and traditional foods.

“The European Union is a vital focus for Slow Food’s efforts to create a more sustainable, just, and responsible food system that recognizes local traditions and cultures,” declares Marta Messa, Slow Food International Councillor for the European Union. “Cooperation and collaboration between EU member states is key to this, so we are alarmed at the prospect of the UK leaving the EU and the severe disruption predicted from a no-deal Brexit, in all matters related to food and farming, among many others. Whilst not perfect by any means, the disruption of this relationship threatened by a no-deal Brexit will be severe and far reaching, also lessening the possibility of shared actions on important issues like glyphosates, food waste, and GM foods.”

Slow Food stands united with Slow Food in the UK and the wider UK food community, and joins them in calling on the negotiating parties to take the concerns of all those within the UK food system, and all those who depend on it, into account.

At a time when international solidarity is needed to face our shared challenges of climate change, increasing migration, and the loss of biodiversity, the departure of the UK from the community of Europe will be a serious loss.

Slow Food International Press Office

[email protected] – Twitter: @SlowFoodPress

Slow Food is a global grassroots organization that envisions a world in which all people can access and enjoy food that is good for them, good for those who grow it and good for the planet. Slow Food involves over a million activists, chefs, experts, youth, farmers, fishers and academics in over 160 countries.