Spring Lambs and Food Policy

Living in a Sheep farming area, it is the arrival of lambs in the fields that really marks the arrival of Spring. Last week I started looking out for spotting the first, there were none. Even when I went into town and lost altitude, in the fields around town were empty of lambs. Then suddenly on Thursday I spotted not just one but several in the local fields. Therefore officially spring has arrived.

While I guess this may upset the vegetarians, it does get me thinking of cooking and the aroma of lamb cooking. But as the sheep would not be there if they were not kept as part of the human food chain, I can appreciate the beauty of new and renewed life, I can also appreciate the human food they represent as well.

As the weather conditions and the soil here are only suited to growing grass, the local hills can only support livestock farming. Therefore this really means Sheep, especially on the hill tops. My village is the highest point of habitation in the county, therefore sheep are my closest neighbours. I have learnt a lot about the behaviour of sheep just from watching them as I was walking past them over the past year. The play fighting amongst the young males. There was one trio that I saw running back and forward, effectively playing chase. At first, I had wondered if something had spooked them, if I had spooked them. Then I realised that they were just playing, having fun. That is not putting human attributes upon them, they really were like any bunch of teenagers running about having fun.

Therefore when I buy lamb from my local butchers, as they post details of the farm and abattoir where the sheep was grown and slaughtered, I can know the animal was well cared for before it reaches my plate. As my regular reader may remember I was a Vegetarian for a number of years as at that time people just did not know where their food was coming from. Once this changed and I could buy meat that was from high welfare sources and not “Factory Farmed”, the best way of supporting this was to revert back to eating meat. Because I was a vegetarian during the time when the worse practices were in place, the ones that resulted in BSE and salmonella in Chicken, I avoided many of the health risks.

Many of these practices were the results of the constant downward pressure placed upon food prices by big businesses. The supermarkets, the food processors and the land investors who see anything goes as long as it makes a profit.

However the policies of the supermarkets have now started to bite them back. A couple of years ago the supermarkets had to develop direct contracts with milk producers and pay a much more fair price. As in Britain so many farmers were leaving milk production as the farmers were loosing money. This lead to a shortage of milk and to maintain supply the supermarkets had to pay a bit more and contract directly with the farmers. This was blamed on the growing prosperity of the Chinese, but the reality was the supermarkets were dictating the low prices and buying cheaper milk from other parts of Europe if the farmers would not accept the low prices they would pay. So while the Chinese were buying from the same parts of Eastern Europe, they were willing to pay a fair price and not the rock bottom prices the supermarkets were willing to pay.

While the supermarkets and food processors realised the danger there regarding milk and cheese before there were real shortages, aided by the credit crunch, the polices of the supermarkets are again biting back again, this time on fruit and vegetables.

As the effects of climate change are now effecting weather patterns and rainfall creating drought in parts of Europe and noticeably in the South of England, the policy of wanting only cosmetically perfect looking Fruit and Vegetables means that other nations are offering more money and are willing to take items that are less than perfect looking. Therefore, leaving the supermarkets without supplies.

This will not mean that there will be immediate shortages on the shelves but I am willing to bet that prices will start to rise. There are even Growers and Farmers in the South and East of Britain that will not be planting and growing crops because of the drought. Simply as if the crops will fail due to lack of rain, why even try to grow them. Although the crops will not fail, they will not be the “perfect” that the supermarkets demand. The major retailers have so much power that this dictatorial specification of cosmetically perfect Fruit & Vegetables has locked Farmers and Growers into the high cost chemically driven form of farming. As to produce the cosmetically perfect Fruit & Vegetables relies on the use of pesticides.

This policy has resulted in the small growers that used to produce the majority of the nations fresh food, have simply gone out of business. Even the the larger growers who discover their crops have not matched the stringent requirements of the major retailers, often find there crops will go to waste. At best getting composted if not sent to landfill. Therefore a lot of food goes to waste, just because it doesn't look good.

Anyone who has grown their own, and I know that includes my reader, knows the shape doesn't effect the flavour. In fact often with far fewer chemicals used in the average Vegetable Garden, they often taste better.

I do not have any simple nor simplistic solutions to these problems. And while I do understand that businesses need to make money, the major retailers have only ever had their interests in mind and their customers and suppliers have been ill used at the very least. Our governments have left the matter of food to the supermarkets and now we are facing potential shortages and price hikes that will effect everyone.

There will be folks that will read this and say that it should just be left to the market, and governments do not have any role to play. But when we all pay for the effects of shortages and the health effects of the poor diet the major retailers have foisted upon many, the supermarkets will soon find they have questions to answer.

While I can still afford to I will enjoy watching the sheep and cooking with the Vegetables I can afford and making sure my freezer is well stocked.