"It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mrs Harris. Ahead of COP30, I want to make a brief contribution to the discussion, my first since leaving the Government.
In my 14 months as Minister for Food Security, I became increasingly convinced that transforming the food system is one …..." Daniel Zeichner - View Speech
"I assure my hon. Friend that I have had numerous conversations with leading academics in her great city, and I would be happy to have further conversations along those lines...." Daniel Zeichner - View Speech
"The right hon. Gentleman makes an important point. We absolutely recognise that food security is national security. He is right about the decline in herd sizes, but of course, there are other aspects here: we have seen higher productivity and changed genetics. It is a complicated picture, but I am …..." Daniel Zeichner - View Speech
"Let me start by acknowledging just how tough it has been for so many farmers this year, having been faced with the very extreme weather conditions. We have had very hot weather, following on from last year, when many suffered from floods. It is undeniable that we are seeing our …..." Daniel Zeichner - View Speech
"My hon. Friend makes a very important point. Of course, consumer food prices depend on a wide range of factors, including agrifood import prices, agricultural prices in general, domestic labour and manufacturing costs, exchange rates, productivity and the extreme weather we have been seeing, which inevitably impacts growth and livestock …..." Daniel Zeichner - View Speech
"The right hon. Gentleman is absolutely right, and I join him in commending the Dinsdale family for the work they do. I have spoken to a number of farmers who would very much like to do that. Of course, there is significant cost involved, and we are working with farmers …..." Daniel Zeichner - View Speech
"My hon. Friend is absolutely right, and we should all be proud of high-quality British producers like Longley farm. That is why, back in July, I announced our food strategy, which will build pride in British food by ensuring we have a food system that backs British food, grows the …..." Daniel Zeichner - View Speech
"The hon. Gentleman raises a very important point, and I visited an abattoir last week. Because of the changes to the system over a number of years, we have seen a concentration of these facilities. We all want to see more small abattoirs. The previous Government introduced a fund, but …..." Daniel Zeichner - View Speech
"Funding for the environmental land management schemes paid to farmers will increase by 150%, from £800 million in 2023-24 to £2 billion by 2028-29. Sadly, though, we inherited a set of schemes that did not necessarily distribute funds fairly. We are working with farmers to reshape the SFI, and further …..." Daniel Zeichner - View Speech
"My hon. Friend makes an important point, and I commend him on his interest and his insight. He is absolutely right, and we are learning from past SFI iterations and from what we are hearing from farmers to improve the SFI for all farmers and to ensure we can give …..." Daniel Zeichner - View Speech