No understanding of our farmers’ needs

GREAT article by Bertie Matthews, MD of Matthews Cotswold Flour about ‘hope for the future’ in last Saturday’s WDP. He made it very clear that the bread we purchase from so many outlets is not environmentally friendly. Over many years the quality of our bread has deteriorated. With the additions of Calcium Propionate; Mono and Di-Acetyl Tartaric Acid Esters of Mono; and Diglycerides of Fatty Acids, Spirit Vinegar, Rapeseed

Oil and Ascorbic Acid, most bread purchased are chemical cocktails. Is that what we really want to eat?

I purchase flour from local mills which is much better value than purchasing some national brands which can be full of chemicals. The bread I make smells incredible as it bakes (currently the house is filled with the smell of delicious bread) and is so much more nutritious, providing a better-quality fuel for my body. I realize many people would not attempt to make their own bread (even with the use of a bread machine), but, if possible, purchase the finished product from a bakery.

The quality of our soils is depleting at a rapid pace and Mr Matthews makes many salient points how this could be remedied. The whole article brings up many points which I find concerning, and the government’s apparent lack of understanding of farmers’ needs. Our politicians need to understand and support intelligent forms of food production.

I can understand Les Fry’s (of Warminster, Wiltshire) comments in his letter of Tuesday, May

24th, and yes, a traditional baker probably does weep at what is called ‘bread’, definitely not the nutritious consumable our bodies require.

Jennifer Lang Cinderford, Gloucestershire