We should be supporting British farms
From: Coun Nathan GarbuttMoore ( Con),
I NEEDED time to reflect on the disappointing news that MPs have voted not support the Agriculture Bill that ensures any food imported into the UK must meet the same high welfare standards as food produced here in the UK.
Over one million people backed the NFU food standards petition, that’s one million people who believe in the hard work and dedication that goes into producing food in this country that we can proudly say has some of the highest welfare standards in the world.
That’s over one million people putting their health and values over cost. That’s over one million people caring about the process of field to fork.
As a district councillor who represents a rural area with farming at the heart of our community, I must stress how much farmers here pride themselves on farming systems.
They work tirelessly to try and farm in a sustainable way, whilst looking after the environment and whilst maintaining the highest animal welfare standards in the world.
Not supporting this Bill could be detrimental to the farming industry and to the healthy, nutritious food that’s on all our plates.
In my opinion we cannot produce food any cheaper to compete with the likes of the US without compromising on quality, health or the environment.
Please support British farming by shopping local and buying British.
From: PeteFawcett, Cleckheaton.
THE Covid- 19 is of course a virus. But there is a comparison in horticulture. Potato blight arose around 1845. All manner of theories as to what was the cause were explored.
People wrote in to say it was like an epidemic resembling cholera. Then a breakthrough in diagnosis came. It was a fungus known as Pernospora infestans.
Acopper sulphateconcoction calledBordeauxMixturewasused. Butthefunguswasalwaysone jumpahead. Inthe1940swork beganonresitantcultivars, which stillcontinues. Buteventoday blightremainsunconquered.
Growers learned that they had to live with it. I get the feeling it will be the same with Covid- 19.