Jamie Oliver sticks it to the EU
Unlike one of my colleagues, I don't have a rampant loathing for Jamie Oliver; on the other hand, I have never held any particular candle for the man either—although I do like the fact that he devotes some of his time to helping people (as he perceives it) rather than simply sitting back and getting filthy rich (I just wish he'd stop trying to get the state to legislate).
But, this report from Vindico has given me new respect for young Master Oliver.
Jamie is, of course, quite right on many of these points—the last one, for instance, is the bizarre system whereby Argentinian beef can be called "British" as long as it is packed here.
The problem with Jamie Oliver is that he cannot see that everything that he says about the EU processes—"It'll take ages, it'll be disappointing and it'll be unclear, and there'll be loopholes"—applies to this stupid government too (indeed, most governments).
Still, in this case, good for Jamie Oliver! You go, girl!
* The best wine that I have had in the last ten years (at least) is British: the Tenterden Estate's Bacchus Reserve (which you can buy online).
But, this report from Vindico has given me new respect for young Master Oliver.
From his grilling by the Health select committee yesterday [video] he had this to say (1hr 25m, my own transcript as not available online yet)...Some MP woman: If we got rid of crazy EU regulations against wonky food then we wouldn't lose 20% of what British farmers produce, because it can't be used because supermarkets can't stock it.
Jamie: Here, here [sic]. I've got nothing nice say about the EU at all. I really haven't. I think it saps the life and icing off our farmers.
Same MP Woman: They do produce pretty good wine though [-WTF? the EU is a political organisation you cow!]
Jamie: So does England these days,[*] although the French are buying that up. ....you remember when the cucumber rule came in where if it's over so much of a bend then we can't sell it—how dare they! How dare they! There's a home for that...I'd like to see the bendy ones in their own box at a discounted price, which would be a damn sight better
Same woman MP: But EU commissioners are meeting in a weeks time to look at this again, so what is your message to them?
Jamie: I just have no faith that anything good will come out of it. It'll take ages, it'll be disappointing and it'll be unclear, and there'll be loopholes. I wish it [the EU] never existed. And labelling is a perfect example—Britain cannot decide what its minimum standards for labelling and clarity are, because it has to go through the EU, and the EU has a lot more to worry about than just Great Britain, and frankly I only care about Great Britain. I can take you to a supermarket now and it will say sourced in the UK, and on the back it will say 'From Denmark'; how dare they!...It's a big old subject. Don't get me off on one or I will go on a tangent.
Jamie is, of course, quite right on many of these points—the last one, for instance, is the bizarre system whereby Argentinian beef can be called "British" as long as it is packed here.
The problem with Jamie Oliver is that he cannot see that everything that he says about the EU processes—"It'll take ages, it'll be disappointing and it'll be unclear, and there'll be loopholes"—applies to this stupid government too (indeed, most governments).
Still, in this case, good for Jamie Oliver! You go, girl!
* The best wine that I have had in the last ten years (at least) is British: the Tenterden Estate's Bacchus Reserve (which you can buy online).
Labels: economy, EU, good deeds, musings, waste
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7 Blogger Comments:
Fair do's to him (the little mockney creep!).
Would that our elected representatives could say the same things, rather than leaving it to a TV chef...
He can still fuck off as far as I'm concerned.
I can only assume the fat tongued mockney cock wart has another self serving crusade to promote.
Not-made-in-the-EU saucepan set and accompanying cookbook, in the fingerprinting shops soon then...
It's all crap, I have previously worked for a Chemical company and we wanted to send Xanthan to Iran. There are 3 countries in the world that manufcature Xanthan (or thre were then) America, China and Switzerland. They wouldn't buy American the great Satan, they wouldn't buy Chinese cheap asian shit and they couldn't afford Swiss. So we mix 10% American with 90% chinese in a UK factory it becomes British and we sell it to the Iranians. Complete Bollocks
View it here:
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=62D3UjKUrLw
Apologies for the late comment (found it via google and couldn't resist), but most of what he's saying here is just the usual populist anti-EU stuff I've come to loathe as far as I'm concerned. It's very easy and popular these days to criticise "the EU" for things that would exist with or without EU membership. For instance, the "20% of food being wasted" thing is a product of standards negotiated by businesses (at their own suggestion) and would happen with or without the EU. The fact that we have a surplus of food in this country guarantees that some of it will be discarded and businesses naturally want an organised system to classify produce.
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