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☆ Last-minute Brexit bill risks higher food prices, UK business groups warn
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-04 | by ( Anna Cooban | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

London CNN —British business groups are warning that newly announced post-Brexit charges on plant and animal imports could push up food prices not long after food inflation came down from double-digit rates. The port and the undersea tunnel beneath the English Channel handle the majority of UK food imports. Annual UK food price inflation topped 19% in March 2023, the highest rate in 45 years, and stood at more than 10% as recently as in October. Some are already “deciding that it is too expensive or too much hassle to serve the UK,” he told CNN. A government spokesperson said the new charges “were at the bottom end of the range” discussed with UK businesses during a consultation period last summer.

Persons: Tom Southall, William Bain ,, ”, James Barnes, “ Organizations: London CNN, European Union, Department for Environment, Food, Rural Affairs, Channel, Chain Federation, Chambers of Commerce, ”, CNN, EU . Trade, Horticultural Trades Association Locations: British, Port, Dover, Eurotunnel, Southall

☆ UK PM Sunak appoints Victoria Atkins as new health minister
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, Nov 13 (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Monday appointed Victoria Atkins, formerly Financial Secretary to the Treasury, as the new Secretary of State for Health and Social care as part of a reshuffle of his senior team of ministers, his office said. Atkins replaces Steve Barclay, who was moved to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. She will assume oversight of the National Health Service (NHS), Britain's state-funded health system that is under pressure from industrial action by health workers and a growing list of patients waiting for treatment. There are currently around 7.8 million people waiting for NHS treatment, a new record high, compared to about 7 million a year ago. Reporting by Kylie MacLellan and Alistair Smout, Writing by Sachin RavikumarOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Rishi Sunak, Victoria Atkins, Atkins, Steve Barclay, Kylie MacLellan, Alistair Smout, Sachin Ravikumar Organizations: British, Monday, Treasury, State, Health, Department for Environment, Food, Rural Affairs, National Health Service, Thomson

☆ Redonda: A Caribbean island once ruled by rats is now a wildlife haven
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-29 | by ( Nell Lewis | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

But with the humans came invasive species, such as black rats and feral goats. In 2016, they launched an effort to restore the island and eliminate the invasive species. We just removed the rats and the goats, and the island transformed right in front of our eyes,” she says. Jenny Daltry/Fauna & Flora/Re:wild Jenny Daltry/Fauna & Flora/Re:wild Redonda island, before and after the eradication of invasive species. Redonda, which is about a mile long, was estimated to have around 6,000 rats and 60 goats pre-eradication, explains Bradshaw.

Persons: Christopher Columbus, Redonda, Ed Marshall, ”, Johnella Bradshaw, Jenny Daltry, they’re, Bradshaw, “, ” Bradshaw, Lawson Lewis, Nneka Nicholas, Helena Jeffery Brown, Nature Organizations: CNN, Environmental, Barbuda Defence Force, Department of, Department for Environment, “ Locations: Redonda, Antigua, Barbuda, Caribbean, Fauna

☆ UK government calls in supermarket bosses for salad crisis talks
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] An employee checks stock levels at the tomatoes section of a partially empty fruit and vegetable aisle at a Sainsbury's supermarket in London, Britain, February 26, 2023. Food and farming minister Mark Spencer will meet the bosses of Britain's major grocers later on Monday. Spencer said the crisis had shown how dependent Britain can be on certain trade routes for some types of food. Last week, Therese Coffey, minister for the environment, food and rural affairs, warned shortages could last up to another month. She has been widely mocked for saying Britons who can't get hold of salad vegetables might want to consider turnips instead.

☆ UK vegetable and fruit shortage could last until May, producers warn
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( Anna Cooban | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

A shortage of tomatoes affecting UK supermarkets is widening to other fruit and vegetables and is likely to last weeks, retailers have warned. According to the BRC, UK supermarkets import 95% of their tomatoes and 90% of their lettuce in December and typically the same proportions in March. Stiles said UK supermarkets had opted to import even more fresh produce from abroad this winter, taking advantage of lower prices sought by overseas growers. UK supermarkets have not mentioned Brexit as a reason for the supply crunch. Although full UK border checks on fruit and vegetable imports from the Europen Union start only from January 2024, Stiles says additional paperwork has already deterred EU producers from exporting more to the country.

☆ UK supermarkets Tesco, Aldi and Asda are rationing fruit and salad vegetables
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Anna Cooban | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Asda told CNN that it was temporarily limiting purchases of some items to three packs per customer. These include tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers and lettuce. Morrisons told CNN that it had imposed a cap of two packs per customer on tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers and lettuce. Sainsbury’s (JSAIY), the United Kingdom’s second-largest food retailer, told CNN it had no plans to ration the sale of fruit and vegetables. The high-end supermarket chain told CNN that it was “monitoring the situation” but had no plans to introduce rationing.

☆ UK government eyes ban on single-use plastic plates and cutlery
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Ivana Kottasová | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Single-use plastic cutlery, plates and other items are set to be banned by the UK government and replaced by biodegradable items as it seeks to tackle the country’s – and the world’s – growing plastic waste problem. The Financial Times reported that the UK Environment Secretary Thérèse Coffey will announce firm plans in the coming weeks. The government said 1.1 billion single-use plates and 4.25 billion items of single-use cutlery are used in England each year, equivalent to 20 plates and 75 pieces of cutlery per person. The European Union banned single-use plastic plates, cutlery, straws, balloon sticks and cotton buds last summer. In the US, California put in place sweeping new restrictions on single-use plastic in June, requiring all single-use packaging and plastic single-use food serviceware be recyclable or compostable by 2032.

The Amazon Fund, started under leftist Lula's first administration from 2003-2010, bankrolled conservation projects and counts Norway and Germany as its biggest donors. Right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro froze the fund, citing unspecified spending irregularities among fund-backed projects run by nongovernmental organizations, without providing evidence. The British embassy said its government was studying the invitation to join the Amazon Fund. Izabella Teixeira, Lula's former environment minister and current climate change adviser, told Reuters she had met with Norwegian and German officials on Monday about restarting the fund. Deforestation soared to a 15-year high under Bolsonaro, who called for more farming and mining in the Amazon region.

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