62 MPs voted in favour of the Bill when 176 MPs in the past had said they would support the proposed legislation.

The new law would have required the government to help UK farmers swap imported soy animal feed for home-grown alternatives.

FoE argued that the new law was needed because “government policies are failing to recognise imported soy as a problem and address its use”.

FoE executive director Andy Atkins said: “The massive level of public support for this law shows that people in the UK don’t want the food they eat to trash the planet.

“By failing to support the new law, the Government has dealt a blow to the people who want to keep the rainforests off their plates – and the farmers that want to rear animals that are born, bred and fed British.”

In the debate held on Friday, agriculture minister Jim Paice backed current livestock industry efforts to achieve a more sustainable sector.

Paice made a commitment that the government would continue to work with industry as it made “concrete” progress towards sustainability, and will take a keen interest in “ensuring that this progress is maintained”.

He said: “We are unequivocally committed to a more sustainable livestock sector, and to achieve that we need a true partnership, with government and civil society, working with a livestock sector that is ready to show the leadership and resolve that’s needed.

“The government will work closely with everyone involved, and I hope that farming and environmental groups take us up on our offer to participate in a conference that takes stock of where we are and where we need to go.”

Colin Butfield, WWF-UK head of campaigns, added: “The fact that the bill coincided with a day when a lot of MPs had to be in their constituencies for Armistice Day services, was always going to count against getting the Bill through its second reading, but the statements of support we heard in parliament, and our experience of speaking to MPs showed that more than enough of them were supportive of the bill in principle.”