We need a better strategy – the food chain can’t operate

Dad’s Army seem to be in charge at No 10 as the ‘Don’t Panic’ message is sure to do quite the opposite. With petrol supplies and queues everywhere around here, energy prices, shortage of labour and HGV drivers in particular it seems no part of the supply chain is untouched with agriculture and food production at the forefront of serious problems. It will only have dawned on most people that making artificial fertiliser, which in itself is vital in order to supply plentiful supplies of food and greater choice, that the by-product is just as important.

CO₂ is vital for the food industry, from packaging to abattoirs, but is also essential for hospitals, nuclear power stations and many other uses in industry, from making chemicals to refrigeration and growing plants in glass-houses.

It is in fact much more than a by-product as the government took decisive action to underwrite the chemical company against the natural gas price spike last week; there was little choice to be fair.

Some are now suggesting that the small number of very big fertiliser companies have far too much power, given that the by-products are so vital with two plants producing 60 per cent of food grade CO₂. The NFU commented that there was no warning of plant shutdown and was in itself an indication of market failure. The price of CO₂ has risen from £200/t to £1,000/t and this may bring new players into the market but cause problems of its own. There needs to be a better strategy for food than this in this country and the food chain cannot operate under these conditions.

The media is again enjoying a feeding frenzy from cancelled Christmas to food shortages, fuel shortages, energy shortages, labour and driver shortages; all of which lead to higher wages which is good and general inflation, which is not so good. A return to the 1970s, the papers say, with a winter of discontent coming up. Add to that the NHS problems and this government has plenty on its plate, not all of it its own making I hasten to add.

Agriculture is certainly feeling the strain in some sectors and the worst pressures are on the pig sector. Pig farmers are in a dire state and not all of the problems make sense. Half the pigs in this country are produced by the three large processing companies and it seems that they are not suffering the rolling back with pigs on farm which other independent pig farmers are; if that is true then by my maths the independent farmers are suffering twice the problem that would occur if everyone was affected equally.

While retailers import pig meat from Denmark, Holland and elsewhere, processors are also importing pig meat from Spain, Belgium and other countries. Much of this is more profitable, I am told, than processing British pigs. Let us try to be rational here, the blockage in meat processing, as in many other sectors, is a shortage of labour; skilled butchers in this case. Retail shelves must be kept stocked and choice is important as is price, which is why they always import pig meat from the EU. Processors have contracts with the retail trade and if there is a shortfall, which there is due to the shortage of skilled butchers, then they must also import pig meat from Spain and elsewhere. The fact that there is plenty of pig meat available in the EU shows that this is a unique UK problem; furthermore it shows that we have very complex supply chains and the slightest hiccup is hugely problematic.

Independent pig farmers who operate on throughput with thin margins are in the meantime in dire straits. Feed prices have gone up hugely, the pigs on farm which should have gone off farm are eating more and more as they get bigger, but are devaluing by the day as they get further from specification. There is a plan for a welfare cull being formed, but that is a total loss of course and a complete waste, but every day as pig numbers build on farms it gets closer.

There is an offer making the rounds that if the farmers were willing to sell the pigs for half price, they could be taken for export; to China as far as I can make out. I am undecided whether this is a good thing or whether someone is taking advantage here? In what form would they be exported as the skilled butchers are simply not available in the UK? This warrants further investigation.

Rather better news is that the USA has now lifted its ban on British lamb, very good news indeed but as President Biden said, it was a completely unjustified ban anyway. Both beef (since last September) and lamb can now make its way to the USA and sheep farmers will be pleased. There is interest in British sheep genetics in the USA as well as high-quality meat, but it’s not a big lamb market. However the AHDB levy body say that it could be worth £37million in the first five years of trade.

This will be hard for some people to swallow, but the French have again been proven right on food and what we eat. It seems that they are able to eat as much cheese as they like and remain healthy and now researchers have found that cheese and cream ward off heart problems! A study of more than 4,000 adults has shown that those with higher intakes of cheese and full-fat dairy had no increase in heart problems; it may even have protected them. Oh dear, this drives a coach and horses (we have no truck drivers) through the many theories and beliefs of those who peddle their nonsense to anyone who will listen. These gurus gain traction due to the fact that most people know nothing about the way food is produced or have any connection with the soil. They have knowledge of calories and read labels but fail to differentiate natural foods which are good for you, treating them the same as processed, packaged and easy solutions which appear to be the same if all one looks at are labels.

Scientists are also telling us that people can be fat and fit and fat people should concentrate on being fit and not on dieting. In other words getting off you backside and doing something which may cause you periods of being a bit short of breath is far better than becoming an expert on dieting, while usually remaining the same weight. Far worse of course is the cycle of dieting, only to put the weight on again before embarking on another dieting period.

So it seems that you can be fat, fit and happy; by far the most important thing is that you are happy. Social media is responsible for so much misery, particularly in young people and their body size and shape. It is high time we accept people for what they are and how they look; give up the social media, do some exercise and enjoy some cheese!