Carrying on from the bacon sandwich, some people in positions of authority here are threatening to put high taxes on meat. The reasoning is that it will save the NHS lots of money by making people healthier, because they will not be able to afford to eat meat every day as they are rumoured to do now.
The real motive is that it will produce extra revenue which will probably not be spent on the NHS, but chucked down the black hole which is the national debt. As usual, it would be the poor who will be hit the hardest. Ironically, it is the poor who make up the bulk (literally) of obese people in this country. They need talking to, not taxing.
Farmers will suffer too of course, and the higher tax proposal comes at a time when the same government is threatening to cut subsidies after we leave the E.U. The landscape would suffer as well if all the thousands of square miles of grazing land were left unmanaged because farmers have gone out of business.
I only ever buy non-intensive British meat, so I am not personally responsible for taking grain off the tables of people on the other side of the world. I am also not responsible for de-forestation in the Americas.
When we leave the E.U. British farmers are supposed to make up any shortfall of foreign imports (American or even Chinese chicken etc.) by producing more home-grown food as well as keeping up exports to places like France for the sake of the economy. What a time to clobber them for the sake of the ideology of increasingly trendy vegans and vegetarians.
Not quite sure where the passion comes in Tom. But relieved to realise that it is not your passion you are struggling to control. (at your age too)
ReplyDeleteThe man in the photo was famous for wandering around the West End of London in the 60s and 70s chanting, "Eat less protein. It will help you to control your passion".
DeleteAnd I'll have you know that there is still a tiny flicker of passion lurking somewhere in my tired and withered old body...
DeleteOn a positive note !
ReplyDeleteGone will be the out of season fruit and veg that is now being imported from Spain and all of your food will be seasonal, as it was when we were lads.
They won't stop importing out of season stuff. Kenyan green beans, etc.
DeleteI don't think meat is unhealthy. It will also be the farmers who suffer. Luckily, we can purchase quite a lot of "local" food (except, of course, things like tropical fruits). We are heavily taxed, so I can't relate to not having high taxes. -Jenn
ReplyDeleteAll things in moderation, or so they say. I think I already mentioned farmers.
DeleteI don't really understand the post but after the EU subsidies stop farmers here will get a new subsidy and with exposure to world markets the subsidy will diminish as the agricultural economy improves, along with the rest of the UK economy. It won't happen overnight but it will happen.
ReplyDeleteSubsidies should not last forever. Only failing businesses need subsidies, but - unlike banks - farming cannot be allowed to fail.
DeleteAlso, subsidies to farming are from public coffers in any case. Food is already taxed, but food is also a commodity on the global stock exchange, which is anti-social in itself.
DeleteNZ has no subsidies, yet we can buy their Lamb for less than UK produced Lamb. There is little logic in the business of food production.
DeleteI've just read that New Zealand exports 90% of its food production and produces enough food to feed 40 million people a year, though it has a population of only 4.6 million. I think the small population may have something to do with it.
DeleteHaving spent the last month sleeping and reading news headlines and sleeping some more, I wonder how Brits are going to work it out. I'm growing scared for you. How much do you manufacture that fills even one container? Who will buy it? What are your markets? How will the port access problem(s) be resolved? Not easy, that's for sure.
ReplyDeleteThese are questions which we have been asking for over 2 years now, and we are still not sure about the answers. Some people are optimists and some pessimists. I haven't a fucking clue one way or the other.
DeleteI buy local or Canadian, and make an effort to do so. I am fortunate that I live close to a number of farms. The one thing I will not buy is farmed salmon, it must be wild.
ReplyDeleteWe rarely have access to wild salmon unless we know a generous and wealthy fisherman who goes Sourh the next day after a £3000 trip in Scotland. This has happened to me only once and it was the best salmon ever.
DeleteDitto for me as well. No farmed fish at all.
ReplyDeleteI wish we had more wild freshwater fish, but Britain is a small country.
DeleteI do try to buy sustainable produce but I can only believe what it says on the label !!! We don’t eat a great deal of meat ..... once a week on average ..... we love fish best. XXXX
ReplyDeleteWe seem to have cut down too. I spent 7 years as a vegetarian in my youth so maybe I thought I should make up for it.
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