On Thu, 2 Jun 2011 23:32:10 +0100, Sacha wrote:

It's a question of supermarket chains dictating the prices they pay AND
being able to buy YOUR food at cheaper prices from other countries
which more heavily subsidise their farmers, pay less to workers or
factory farm their animals.

Hear, hear. The food market as dominated by the big supermarkets is
not a free market. The buyers are dictating the price not the sellers
based on cost plus. This why large numbers of diary farmers *are*
giving up milk production.

If you're happy with that and look forward to paying much, much higher
prices in years to come when there's no locally produced food, therefore
no choice and all is imported, you have the right attitude.

Or get used to nothing on the shelves when food gets into real
shortage for any number of reasons from bad weather to politics. Will
a country export food when it's own population are starving and
holding food riots? I think not, where does that leave us? Hungry
that's where.

It is a very dangerous path to tread relying on imports for
significant amounts of the staple foods.

--
Cheers
Dave.