FMD and the NFU
Was the government really in a position to start an effective vaccination programme at the start of the FMD outbreak? Did they have sufficient quantities of the right strains and the infrastucture to administer it?
Of course not, but they were being leant on by the supermarkets who maintained that customers would not buy products from vaccinated animals despite the fact that they were all selling corned beef of South American origin, most of which was from vaccinated animals.
And poor old Ben Gill falls for this con and bravely states that his members would not agree to vaccination, although he had never asked them, and ends up getting farmers the blame for the goverments lack of foresight and the supermarkets intransigence. Who was leading who by the nose?
farmer , North Wilts
GM crops & foods
I do not think that GM farmers should be experimenting with genetic modification when potentially it could do more harm than good.
Non GM farmers & organic farmers will be out of business, also beekeepers. Cross pollen contamination is inevitable.
The general public want a choice of foods. Do not harm the environment by growing GM.
Ordinary citizen., Dorset.
Organic v GM.
In view of the revelationsthat farmers are going to revert from organic back to conventional methods, as they are not getting enough remuneration, does this not leave the way open for the Govt. and the Bio-tech industry to move in?
As I work part-time on the checkouts of one of the top supermarket chains, I am daily reminded that 99% of the customers have no idea from which country or source their food comes from.
Also I have noticed there is an increasing number who are actively seeking out Organic produce. Where is this going to come from if our own famers are not supported? Is it that the politicians want us to import all our food? Heaven help us.
In the not too distant future, as the 'townies' take over the farms, the countryside will be covered in scrub, then where will the tourist industry be? The Govt. won't want to commit anymore money to support tourism.
What a mess they have created by not listening to the people on the ground, those who for generations have made the countryside what it is today.
Retired teacher, Mother, Grandmother, & Kiwi farmers daughter, Batley, West Yorkshire
Oxfam and fairtrade
What do farmers think about Oxfam's Fairtrade campaign?
Is it really fair to expect the British public to contribute around $5 billion per year to third world development programmes; then as individuals to provide donations to all of the various aid agencies (and I do this myself); and then ask them to provide yet more money through the shopping basket to third world farmers?
Fairtrade isn't the answer. You cannot solve the problems of third world farmers on the export market. What they need to do is concentrate their efforts on production for their own local market. They need to achieve food sovereignty.
British farmers (and small businesses) need the sort of effort and support that Oxfam is currently devoting to third world farmers via Fairtrade. We need a campaign that concentrates on Hometrade.
Self-employed, Cumbria
the countryside
When will politicians and the public realise that we have the beautiful countryside we have today BECAUSE of the way we've lived, worked and played here, not IN SPITE of the way we've lived, worked and played here.
Farmer, Essex
the only viable future
I see no future for British Agriculture as long as we remain in the CAP.
Smallholder, Devon