Sheila Dillon of the Food Programme tweeted this yesterday: "...dairy farmers in the UK v hard pressed by processors in collusion with big retailers--and us! Milk cheaper than bottled water. Crazy".
Why do people buy water? Bottled water is the biggest con ever & that it is cheaper than milk produced by people like us after long hours of hard work in frequently appalling weather (it is not just the milking of the cows, you know, but the feeding & cleaning & bedding down & harvesting of feed for the long wet winters!) is offensive & outrageous.
Do not buy water...but do buy lovely healthful milk, especially organic milk!!!
Rant over!...well almost.
In this month's copy of The Field (http://www.thefield.co.uk/) there is a marvellous piece by that champion of the countryside Robin Page. He is saying rightly that farmers & farm workers are now an endangered species and that the 'armlock' of the supermarkets must be broken in order that farming incomes can be improved to encourage young Britons to work on the land. Why are growers of fine British produce paying duty on fuel when imported & inferior food stuffs are coming into the country on tax-free fuel? Also there should be policy of local food procurement for the Civil Service, hospitals, schools, prisons & the military.
Another very valid point he makes is that those entering a career as 'conservationists' (or even tv countyrside presenters) should work for six months on an upland farm & six months assisting a gamekeeper.
The title of the this piece is 'If I ruled the World...' a regular feature in the magazine & this one by Robin Page is one the best we've read. So much sense spoken by the man who is the founder & chairman of The Countryside Restoration Trust http://www.countrysiderestorationtrust.com/.
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