17th January 2008

Dear Editor.

For many years I was the Green Party national spokesperson on
agriculture, food and the countryside and have a background in farming
including a National Certificate in Agriculture. For most of the 20th
century the farming industry was adept at keeping the truth about the
what really goes on in those industrial farming units from the public.

The National Farmers Union (NFU) and big country landowners complained about city folk not understanding farming yet they were never prepared to be truthful. The farming leaders scheming methods were renowned for squashing the voice of the small and part time farmer and ridiculing the call for food production to be humane and work with rather than against nature.

Now, of course, the supermarkets are ruling with a rod of iron this
apauling global, operation. They continue to mislead the public about
the true cost of our industrialised food system to humans, animals and
the environment. Paul Licence ("Why Oliver's army gets my goat.." The
Star January 11th) implies that just because many people do not have
much money they do not care about how their food is produced. It's
poverty that needs to be addressed rather than lowering food standards,
and producers also need a fair return for their labour.

Thank goodness for people like Jamie Oliver who are beginning to
highlight just what is going on. The cruelty and gross injustice of our
food system needs to be brought out into the open. Only then can we
begin to properly discuss what needs to change.

Yours Sincerely.
Green Party Cllr. Bernard Little.

Sheffield Green Party