Countryfile presenter Tom Heap introduced contributions from John Mills, founder and chairman of retailer JML, Justin King, former CEO of Sainsbury’s, David Trowbridge, president-elect of the Iowa Cattlemen’s Association and James Cleverly MP, as well as Mr Smith and Mr Davies from the NFU.
Guy Smith said: “Any civilised country has to ask itself, 'Do we want to become recklessly dependent on imports for our food needs?' I accept that this is a political question, and there is no easy answer, but it's the question that is confronting us at this moment in time. The cheaper product, grown to different standards and lower cost of production, may well win the day.”
John Davies said: “Trade is so important to sheep farmers because nearly 40 per cent of our lambs are exported, and of those, nearly 95 per cent go to the EU. We need unfettered and free access to the European market. We need those standards to be equivalent for any products coming in.”