A Little Perspective

A Real Blow

Before turning in, I felt I should put my previous posting in a little context.

I found out about my little technical problems by e-mail sad in pub backlit with News 24 screens filled with the scenes relating the latest Foot and Mouth outbreak, which was a valuable reminder of what real problems are. Yet again British agriculture faces another real blow, following on from the appalling handling last FMD outbreak, Avian Flu, BSE some time ago, and the consequences of the recent floods very recently.

There are people who try and portray at least some of these as being in part self inflicted, by greedy rich farmers. Thankfully, judging by the mood in a pub in a fairly urban part of London, where there seemed genuine sympathy for the position of the country's farmers, the majority understand that most farmers work damn hard for pretty small, and often uncertain reward. Some of the commercial practices of the big supermarkets that many supply severely test my free market instincts, and tales of incredible subsidies only make me rail against those (yes, from that lovely organisation) that come up with the ridiculous schemes, and those that at a national level administer them so badly, not the recipients of this money.

Personally, knowing the risk to human health is beyond negligable, I'll be on the lookout for British beef to buy this week, even if the price does rise. I'd encourage anyone else to do the same, and if you are lucky enough still to have a real butcher with the good stuff somewhere along your high street, so much the better. The same applies to all the other great products too. As long as it doesn't involve misguidedly trampling around any of the areas where there really is a genuine problem, I think we should do all we can in our small ways to support British agriculture and the rural economy at times like this.