We've had a few successes in the Agriculture Committee votes in the past few weeks. Firstly on the Animal Welfare Action Plan 2006 – 2010, which sets out the EU’s approach to animal welfare in the coming years.

My amendments calling for financial support for farmers to help them with the costs of meeting EU standards and for animal imports into the EU to meet the same high quality standards that we expect our own farmers to comply with were adopted.

It’s a good result for animal welfare and means we will have one clear and comprehensive piece of legislation. I’m hopeful that the Commission will respond positively to this with clear funding proposals. The issue will be voted on by the full Parliament later this year.

The second victory was the Environment Committee's vote to label all meat, poultry, dairy products and fresh fruit and vegetables with its country of origin. This would boost the profile of our farmers and food producers in Wales, and highlight our top class products such as Welsh lamb, cheese and beef.

Until country of origin food labelling becomes law, food can be labelled as a product of the country where it’s only processed and packed. This is obviously misleading for the consumer, but it also undermines our efforts to promote products that are really made in Wales.

We also voted for labelling that would show whether battery farmed eggs were used in processed foods. Those of us who choose to buy free range eggs don’t yet have the same choice when buying foods containing eggs.

Hundreds of constituents have contacted me about this and I’m very pleased that the committee agreed. It's an issue people care deeply about.

As they do about genetically modified food. I was horrified by the European Commission’s decision to authorise the growing of a strain of genetically modified potato and took part in a protest in the chamber of the European Parliament in Strasbourg 'For a GMO-Free Europe'.

This is the first new permission to grow a genetically-modified plant variety that the European Commission has issued in 12 years - new EU Health and Consumer Protection Commissioner, John Dalli, giving the go-ahead to the "Amflora" potato variety which is produced by German pharmaceutical company BASF and is antibiotic resistant.

There are serious health and environmental concerns about this particular strain of potato as it is untried and untested. I’ve longed campaigned against the planting of GM crops, and will continue to do so.

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