Minister of Agriculture Fisheries and Food
 Minister of Agriculture Fisheries and Food  | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Start | 1889 |
| End | 2001 |
| Responsible for the UK food production and industry. | |
The Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food was a United Kingdom cabinet position, responsible for the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. The post was originally named President of the Board of Agriculture and was created in 1889. In 1903, an Act was passed to transfer to the new styled Board of Agriculture and Fisheries certain powers and duties relating to the fishing industry, and the post was renamed President of the Board of Agriculture and Fisheries. It attained its final name in 1955 with the addition of responsibilities for the British food industry to the existing responsibilities for agriculture and the fishing industry.
On its renaming as the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food in 1955, it was responsible for agriculture, fisheries and food. Until the Food Standards Agency was created in 2001, it was responsible for both food production and food safety, which was seen by some to give rise to a conflict of interest.
The Ministry is massively influenced by corporate lobbyist groups, both domestic and foreign[citation needed], and has been responsible for the restructuring of British food production to corporate industrial scale, helping to squeeze out smaller producers.
Several of the ministers (Jim Prior 1988; Christopher Soames 1981,1982]) have attended the Bilderberg meetings.
On 8 June 2001, the Ministry merged with Secretary of State for the Environment into the office of Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
Mass Culling
MAFF was widely criticized for its handling of the outbreak of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (more widely known as mad cow disease) where in 1994, during an attempt to stop the spread of the alleged super-deadly disease (much hyped in a media campaign), a total of 4.4 million cattle were slaughtered[1]. Later, during the the outbreak of foot and mouth disease in 2001, where over 6 million cows and sheep were killed[2].
Office Holders on Wikispooks
| Name | From | To |
|---|---|---|
| John MacGregor | 13 June 1987 | 24 July 1989 |
| John Silkin | 10 September 1976 | 4 May 1979 |
| Fred Peart | 5 March 1974 | 10 September 1976 |
| Jim Prior | 20 June 1970 | 5 November 1972 |
| Fred Peart | 18 October 1964 | 6 April 1968 |
| Christopher Soames | 27 July 1960 | 16 October 1964 |
