Magnus Linklater with a paen of praise to the peasant farmer;
That makes it easier for the French to wean its consumers away from
cheap imports. It is a process that will have to happen sooner or later
in Britain too. We cannot forever continue to jet in fruit and
vegetables from improbable places in the name of choice and cheapness.
If we are serious about the environment, we cannot turn a blind eye to
the ranching conditions or the deforestation in countries like Brazil
or Argentina, which supply our beef. Above all, we cannot simply allow
our farming heritage to melt away because it is out of fashion. Sooner
or later we will need it back again. When that time comes, I have no
doubt which country will be better placed. My money is on the old man
with the scythe.
Deforestation? Argentina? The whole damn place is a cow’s friggin’ dream, flat grassland for hundreds of miles!
But the pointhe’s missed, the important point. Yes, growing food uses resources. Fuel, land, all sorts of things. In fact, the traditional three inputs: land, labour and capital. You can mix and match them to your heart’s desire. More labour if you wish. More capital (machinery) if you wish. You can farm extensively (like Argentina does) or intensively (like that French peasant) using more or less land.
But what is inevitable is that if you use less land and less capital, you have to use more labour. And as labour is the most expensive input, that will make food more expensive…..and thus all those who buy it, poorer.
Sure, we can have peasant farming, terroir, if we wish to. We just have to be willing to pay for it: on top of the 1,500 quid a year per family that the CAP already costs us.
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