Farming and the City
I have written before about the split between town and country, which I view as one of the biggest divides in Britain today. One lady, Jane O’Neill, feels the same way and has been on Radio 4 this morning.
Jane has a small holding in Sussex, where some of my own family used to farm. She told a story about a teacher from the South-West of England who refused to to take children on a farm trip because she thought farming was cruel. Why? She thought that cows had to be killed to remove their milk!
The gap between town and country is getting even bigger. Jane’s response has been to do something about it and she is driving geese through London, as it used to be done, tomorrow to highlight the problem. All of this forms part of “The Farming to Food Show”, which sounds like a pretty great way to bring some understanding of farming and where food comes from (that is, where it comes from before it gets to the supermarket!).
The Farming to Food show is at Potters Field, right by City Hall, London on 27, 28 & 29 September 2007 and is open from 10 a.m.
Something to do before conference! If anyone goes along, leave a comment here with your thoughts.
A teacher thought that cows had to be killed to get milk? Whilst there are reasonable concerns about farming practices and animal welfare, I think that raises some questions about the standards of teachers in our schools.
Comment by Victoria Roberts — 28 September, 2007 @ 5:25 pm
I confess to not being 100% sure the story is real, but hey, it was on Radio 4 so it must be true!
Comment by Timothy Barnes — 28 September, 2007 @ 5:35 pm
Given that most food is mass produced for supermarkets, does anyone want to know where it comes from? The implications of the use of palm oil for the developing world, the use of antibiotics, the fact that broiler chickens end up with ammonia burns on their hocks from being forced to lie in their own waste etc etc
Comment by Victoria Roberts — 28 September, 2007 @ 6:04 pm
I think people do want to know although I expect most wouldn’t like the answers. As a young child, my mother used to get warm milk straight from the cow for me. I think giving that to a child is illegal now as you have to pasteurise it first. Still, we knew where it had come from and what the cow had eaten. Such things matter.
Comment by Timothy Barnes — 28 September, 2007 @ 6:29 pm
I agree, I think we should know where food comes from and what is in the food chain. Not knowing can have a detrimental impact - the outbreak of BSE for example or, looking at the USA, one can trace the obesity epidemic back to the introduction of corn syrup. Whilst I would like to buy local, possibly organic, produce which has been grown with regard to the highest standards of animal welfare and environmental considerations, how many of us have both the time and the money to do that?
Comment by Victoria Roberts — 28 September, 2007 @ 8:03 pm