Should Britain strive to be self-sufficient?

ROSS CLARK is right when he says we must become a self-supporting nation when it comes to our food (Mail). The blockading of Dover must serve as a lesson that we must never again be held to ransom by foreign suppliers. Our farmers are second to none in the quality of their produce and should increase production. It’s a mistake if farming subsidies are replaced by grants for being environmentally friendly. It will not help us to become self-sufficient if large areas of land will become non-productive nature parks. DAVID MORGAN, Shrewsbury, Shropshire.

THE EU pays subsidies to farmers to leave their fields idle. Allotments are sold off for building land. The French blockade proved that we must learn to be self-sufficient. I have a greenhouse and my tomatoes have kept me and my neighbours supplied until December. I don’t have a huge garden, but grow lettuces, radishes and onions, as well as raspberries and gooseberries.

MIRIAM LANGLEY, Coventry.

WE HAVE now seen the danger of relying on perishable goods from abroad. We have been far too dependent on others to supply us and are nowhere near self-sufficient in essential foods.

The next time the council receives a planning application for a glasshouse or polytunnel, don’t object just because it doesn’t look pretty when city folk drive to their weekend cottages.

BRYAN LACK, Oxford.

THE French have given us a taste of how easily they can cut us off from European transport routes. As fresh fruit and veg appears to be the biggest issue, we should promote producers such as Thanet Earth in Kent. This massive greenhouse uses high-tech growing methods to produce millions of tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers all year round. JOHN DILLON, New Milton, Hants.