Feeding the world

Today's News 19 February, 2009
Sam Allen Soil Association

We must produce more food says Hilary Benn "The Independent features an extract from the Environment Secretary Hilary Benn's speech at the National Farmers' Union earlier this week: 'I want British agriculture to produce as much food as possible. No ifs. No buts. The only requirements: that consumers want what's produced and that the way it's produced sustains our environment and safeguards our landscape. This is not about targets for production or self-sufficiency. We are a trading nation. Some of the food we grow, we export; nearly £12bn worth in 2007. And the food that we import is really important too. It is about productive, efficient farming. It is about the higher-yielding seeds, better irrigation and more sustainable use of fertilisers that have transformed agriculture in parts of the world.'"

http://www.independent.co.uk:80/opinion/commentators/hilary-benn-we-must-produce-more-food-8211-without-risking-farmers8217-futures-1625827.html

Editor's Comment: This kind of talk makes me sad, angry, and outraged. "I want British Agriculture to produce as much food as possible." Who cares what he personally wants? What is important is the health and welfare of our society. Runaway, catastrophic, population explosion should not automatically mean that we have to plow up every inch of our soil to export food. What about the health of the countryside? What about other beings that we share space with, the birds, animals, bees, flowers? We kill pollinating insects with government approved chemical poison. We kill earthworms with government approved fertilisers. Life as we know it cannot survive this eco-cide, this madness. This planet does not belong to homo sapiens to wreck in the name of consumerism driven by materialism and multinational corporations. No, no Mr. Benn. The answer is the curtailment of massive global food shipments and encouragement and financial support for local food provision around the globe. This enhances the health and sustainability of people, allows a cooperative sharing with Nature and is in harmony with efforts to deal with peak oil and global warming.

It has taken me a long tome to realise that multinationals don't appear to see the problem. Population to them is simply increased markets that lead to increased profits.