Speaking in the House of Commons, Mr Bacon said:

“Consumers should have the information they need to make informed decisions about the food they buy.  There is a wide range of issues which may quite rightly be of concern to them in making their purchasing decisions”. 

“These include the nutritional and calorific value of food, the salt or fat content, the animal welfare standards under which food is produced, and the country of origin.  Any food labelling regime must seek to address these various concerns”.

“It is important that all food producers adhere to the same high standards for food labelling and the best way to achieve this is through a statutory framework”. 

“Clear mandatory country of origin labelling would significantly reduce the risk that consumers making a food purchasing decision should be misled or in practice be unable to use their consumer power to support domestic producers, if that is what they wish to do”.

Mr Bacon was speaking after the launch of the film, An Inconvenient Trough, made by a group of pig farmers.  The film draws attention to the conditions facing pig farmers, notably that 70 per cent of the imports of pork and pork products into the United Kingdom are produced to animal welfare standards that would unlawful in this country.

Mr Bacon added:

“It is in this context that we must look at country of origin labelling. I must emphasise that this is not in order to prevent consumers from buying products from where they wish, but rather to ensure that they are making informed decisions and that they cannot be misled”.

“I make no secret of the fact that I wish all consumers would buy British meat all the time. But achieving this is a matter for consumers and it is not the purpose of my Bill”. 

“I would just like to see a fair deal for British farmers and to ensure they are given the chance to compete fairly with overseas products; that the lower animal welfare standards often applied to imported production are clearly marked for consumers as well as the higher standards of domestic production; and that farmers are able to engage the consumer in supporting the high standards of food safety, animal welfare and environmental care that lie at the heart of British farming and cannot be undermined by misleading labelling of competing products”.

“A vital part of facilitating this shift in priorities would be to ensure that this country has far more rigorous and transparent food labelling”.