Sleepwalking into food poverty
The British public is being hoodwinked by DEFRA into believing the food they'll eat in the future is safe in their hands. It is not.
"Climate, nature, people and places" is the strapline for £700,000 on offer for South Shropshire farmers, with similar amounts for other National Parks and AONBs.
I've trawled their website and phrases and alarming proposals like "funding will help farmers support and manage the natural environment, cultural heritage and public access", and "people visiting, agricultural transition, people know best and parking/paths" appear over and over. Food production? One mention per 10 bullet points – sheep once, and no cattle.
Farmers have no choice but to accept these changes to stay "farming" because there's no money in livestock any more.
Payments to be moved from food production to "other schemes for farmers; incentives for public use/access. Upland grazing for birds and woodland/pastures ". Harmless-sounding "air quality improvements" mean fewer animals because of ammonia and methane. We "must use less fertiliser and reduce arable crops".
I do worry about bees and pollution, and climate change, but I'm also worried that the provision of our food is being jeopardised by fanatics.
Rosemary Allen is a retired livestock farmer living near Ellesmere
