The National Sheep Association (NSA) is surprised and concerned to learn that the Food Standards Agency (FSA) is seeking to speed up the approval process for laboratory grown foods, including cell grown meat.

The news released on Monday 10th March NSA believes is a further U turn from the UK Government on its commitment to British agriculture. It has previously stated the public must connect more closely to natural food, the soil and ecosystems.

NSA Chief Executive Phil Stocker comments: “We are seeing evidence the Government, and its agencies such as the FSA, are keen to push forward with hi-tech approaches to food production, but this step contradicts with the Government’s aims of encouraging natural, sustainable food production in harmony with the protection of the UK’s natural environment.

“The government is delivering mixed messages. It’s like we are heading for a future where people will eat their lab grown ‘food pill’ during the working week and then dine out on locally produced tasty delicacies at the weekend but I don’t believe that’s a future many people would want if they really thought about it.”

For many years NSA has worked with the FSA to try and secure a future market for skin on sheep products. Commonly known as ‘smokies’ these products are popular with West African communities but are currently illegal.

Mr Stocker continues: “My experience of working with FSA to get approval for Skin on Sheep products to be legalised ensuring a safer and more welfare friendly product can be produced has been a lengthy one. Despite a lot of research and evidence, and offers of more data collection, NSA waited for more than two years to even get a response from them. To suggest it will now ‘fast forward’ approval approaches for lab grown meat to be available in just two years is mind boggling when these products are a huge experiment in generational human health. It appears the FSA is either changing its ways of working or has a bias towards lab produced unnatural foods.”

Arguments supporting the production of lab grown meat are that it is better for the environment and animal welfare.

Mr Stocker concludes: “The UK approach to farming sheep aligns with sustainable, regenerative interests in both uplands and lowlands. Our livestock are free to enjoy a life close to nature whilst farmers are increasingly focused on reducing inputs, striving towards responsible medicine use and management practices that will sequester carbon and deliver for a healthy, biodiverse environment.”