"Dave Liquorice" wrote in message
ll.co.uk...
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.

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Cheers
Dave.



Dave that is a very interesting subject. I give illustrated talks to
Historical, Military and Social Groups. One which I have asked to do to a
large group of W.I.'s is one on Rationing during World War II. Thrown up
some interesting facts and here is part of the talk compressed from part of
the presentation ;......

WHY?

.. Plenty of land to grow our own crops.

.. Plenty of land to raise cattle etc.

.. Smaller population than we have now.

.. So why rationing?

.. Did we need rationing in World War 1?

.. So are we ready for it now?

.. Picture we are now in 1939 .................

This year we are importing

.. 55 Million tons of feed and foodstuffs

.. 33 Million tons of this is for cattle

.. 22 Million tons is for human consumption

Why so much imports?

.. 12.9 Million Acres of cultivated land

.. 18.8 Million Acres of permanent grassland

.. This produced only 40% of Britain's food!

.. Agriculture was 'slow' with 649,000 farm horses

.. And only 55,000 tractors

So what were we importing?

.. 92% of our fats

.. 51% of our meat and bacon

.. 73% of our sugar

.. 87% of our flour and cereals

.. Plus a large proportion of cheese, eggs, vegetables and other
everyday foods.



""Plus a large proportion of cheese, eggs, vegetables and other everyday
foods""!!!!!



and then came the U Boats



etc, etc, etc.



In 1939 we were importing 60% of our foodstuffs.



Anyone know how much we import now?



Mike




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Remember, a statue has never been erected to a critic.

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