British food a thing of the past???

N9eav

TigerAngel11 wrote:

It's up to the consumer to ensure that they buy British products if they want the British farming economy to prosper. It depends whether it's more important to you to save a few extra pounds or support your local farmers. It's not just the farms that suffer either: the manufacturing/industrial community has been suffering for a long time too.

I guess I have to refer to my starting post. Will the British farmer bother if Europe is giving them money for producing nothing.

Like my Bro in law said. He gets 17p per litre for his milk. It costs about that to produce it. So even though he will get a free money subsidy, why bother? Milking for 4 hours twice a day, Electricity to store 10,000 litres of milk, dead cows, calving, buying quality semen to keep the stock going, making silage to feed them. All lots of work for little reward.

I have no doubt British is best.

I keep a few chickens, and the eggs are sooooo much better than the shops. I have a few bees the honey is fantastic. But it's cheaper and easier not to bother. If I did not like the hobby, then there is no profit in it.

Loadsabob

N9eav,

I take your point, it's a rather depressing scenario when even consumer power can't keep farmers motivated to actually produce, because they can make an adequate living from NOT producing. Then where will be the British or local produce for us to choose to buy?

But 1000 acres IS a lot of land. I would think most farmers have a lot less, and so will not be getting a £55,000 subsidy, so will still have to produce. Many of those, I think, may start to shift to direct supply to their customers, as we see more and more doing now.

Looking at my local box scheme, they're not going to be doing it for the love of it, it's to make a living...so it must be worth their while.

Rave

The whole subsidy system is completely cockeyed EU wide, but thanks to the fact that Margaret Beckett is a blithering idiot of quite staggering proportions we have chosen to implement the already stupid system in a frankly lunatic way. If you look here you'll see that the amount of subsidy you get depends on how potentially productive your land is- and if it's more productive (and hence potentially more profitable), you get more subsidies as well! So the intensive agribusinesses pouring fertiliers and pesticides onto fields by the ton get a fat cheque from the government as their reward, while the hill farmers whose grazing livestock performs a vital role in maintaining some of our most famous and beautiful countryside get the shaft.

It really is enough to make one steaming mad. Still if I got annoyed at every system this government has come up with to spend our money on screwing up the country I'd have had a stroke by now:rolleyes:. And breathe......

Loadsabob

Rave wrote:

Margaret Beckett is a blithering idiot of quite staggering proportions.

Couldn't have put it better myself! And the rest of your post, also good, but this was my favourite bit!

We blame the EU for a lot in this country, but sometimes people forget how much of a say our own frankly idiotic government has in the implementation and application of the rules. I often hear the EU blamed for straight cucumbers in supermarkets, etc, but continental supermarkets laugh in the face of straight cucumbers and stock all the tasty ones, however wonky!

Hermia

mah_jong wrote:

I think we have been trained buy from supermarkets....go to this shop and buy everything under one roof ...( and to """" with the competitors!!).

mah


Ps I am not rich.

Unfortunately some of us have no choice but to shop from supermarkets. Where I live we have 2 Tescos and a Sainsburys and a Londis at the end of the street. There are no independant shops, bakers, butchers or greengrocers in the area (not even in the local town). A couple of my friends are joined to those box schemes, but they pay a fortune.

Shez

God Ive had some of that argentinian beef from asda once and didnt realise till i got home ( i usually by British) it was awful, tough rubbish. yuk - no where near as nice as the british beef!

mah_jong

Hermia wrote:

Unfortunately some of us have no choice but to shop from supermarkets. Where I live we have 2 Tescos and a Sainsburys and a Londis at the end of the street. There are no independant shops, bakers, butchers or greengrocers in the area (not even in the local town). A couple of my friends are joined to those box schemes, but they pay a fortune.

Beleive me, your choice is far far greater than mine!!!! I live rurally and there is no organic box scheme either...(tried but there isn't one!)

N9eav

Surprisingly, Tesco do claim to do local beef. If you look on some of their packets, there is a nice picture of a Devon farmer and his wife.. Most is cut and packaged here in Cornwall too (By Portugese workers may I add, as no one locally will work for the meat packing factory anymore) But a lot of their cheaper 'on offer' beef is Argentinian.

We have an outlet store from the packing plant. It's all re-packaged Tesco stuff, but I can get 9lbs of best Rump for £10. Bargain.

calleyw

Also a point to ponder I have been told that food stuffs can be imported in to this country and re-packaged here and then claimed to be british. Not sure if it is true. But makes you think.

So unless you have bought straight off the land it could still be from anywhere.

Wonder if my neighbours would mind a cow in my back garden LOL!!!!!!!!!!!


Yours

Calley

N9eav

reading the old 'James Herriot' books, everyone had a cow or pig in their back garden one time but now with passports, TB testing, Vets, Slaughter fees, red tape, Oh and of course no garden to speak of..... it's all in the past