Letter of the week Farmers not to blame
THE problem that I have with the State of Nature report (Town & Country, September 21) and its subsequent interpretation by many is the ‘easy answer’ approach of blaming farming practice. I don’t doubt that this has been a significant factor; however, farmers produce what they are asked to, how they are asked to, as a result of the interaction of the market and government policy. However bizarre this process is, the responsibility ultimately comes back to the individual voter and consumer.
What we have is a system of ‘high’ standards with some compensation through EU Common Agricultural Policy. But we have a population that largely buys food based on price, through a supply chain where all the power is in the hands of large corporations, whose first duty is to their shareholders.
Many people are happy to see the current blame culture perpetuated because it hides what is actually happening and means that people don’t have to take responsibility for their own actions. Dr Sean Beer, Dorset