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British Dairy Cow |
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Who are we?We are a group of concerned farmers who want to alert the public to the rapid decline in the amount of food produced in this country. We are particularly concerned about how 60 million British people will be fed in the event of a crisis, and what can actually be done to improve the critical situation. We are not anti-government, or commercially or politically motivated. The facts♦ In April 2001, after foot-and-mouth disease, Government announced its policy for farmers to be 'custodians of the countryside' rather than producers of food. Policies since then have followed this line. Defra's response to the issue of food security can be seen here.
♦ Self-sufficiency in food has fallen from 74% to 60% in ten years and the country has a £13 billion food trade deficit. - Hill farming is on the brink of rapid and unmanaged collapse (National Trust report).
♦ Dairy farmers are leaving the industry at an alarming rate; although some are being promised considerably higher payments for their milk, this increase will rapidly be negated by the escalating costs of feed (due to a world shortage of wheat) and other inputs such as wages, fertilisers and machinery. |
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