Lie of the land, C4, tomorrow 21.00

[hamster]

Programme on C4 at 21.00 tomorrow night called 'The Lie of the Land' about farming and the countryside and stuff. Sounds quite interesting (just heard about it on Radio 3).

[Shirley]

sounds interesting - thanks for the heads up!

[Andy Hamilton]

So thats later today now! Will try and remember.

[Millymollymandy]

I watched a bit then fell asleep, not cos the programme was boring but it is an hour later here!

I had to shut my eyes each time a calf was shot though!

[hamster]

Oh, I know. Rather graphic. I think it was a good move to show the reality of country life, particularly as there are so many people who think eating meat is cruel, but have no problem drinking milk and dairy products.

It just made me despair, and I was hopping up and down afterwards having one of my 'everyone in the entire world is mad except me' rants. How, how can it be sensible to slap all kinds of animal welfare restrictions on farmers, drive the cost of food production up so much and thereby create a market for cheap imported meat, where the standards of welfare are much lower??!! If we have standards of welfare, for the sake of the animals, for the sake of the consumer, then they should apply across the board, to everything that is sold in Britain, not allowing this double standard.

And, why is it legal for people to breed pheasants solely for the purpose of being shot, yet hunting, to get rid of pests, and which is by far the most efficient way of doing so, is outlawed? I'm not arguing against shooting/hunting game, just at the warped logic involved...

And it is sad, because while there are still many farmers, like those in the programme, who will hang on till the bitter end, either only giving up when it becomes completely economically unviable or because they themselves are too old to continue, there are hardly any young people going into it, which is understandable when they have better opportunities elsewhere. It sounds melodramatic, but it feels like we've only got a few years to save farming, or there won't be any farmers left. Sometimes I wonder if that's what the government wants. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrr.


Right, got that off my chest, I'm going to have a cup of tea and a walk through the Covered Market.

[Cassiepod]

I didn't see the programme myself but the OH did and couldn't stop talking about it and the inequalities etc etc.

According to the local paper the last milk farmer on Deeside where I live gave up last week because they couldn't afford it any more.

It's very very sad that even with the move tworads organic local produce that is happneing these producers can't afford to hang on until it is truly widespread.

It's also irksome that the huge companies like tescos etc are tryng to jump on the local bandwagon whilst still driving these farmers to the edge.

I'm with you on the ranting and wish so very mucht hat there was more that I could do to help.

[Helsbells]

I saw lie of the land last night (must have been a repeat) I was very annoyed/disturbed/angry/upset.
One farmer said that the calf's have to be shot because the cosumers dont want to eat that particular breed, and I was like "well I would eat it if I was given the chance."
I feel like its not my fault as a consumer that my organic beef just says "organic beef" on it, and not what breen of beef, we dont get the choice as consumers, we can only get what the supermarkets offer.

[ina]

One farmer said that the calf's have to be shot because the cosumers dont want to eat that particular breed, and I was like "well I would eat it if I was given the chance."

It's a bit more complicated than that: Dairy breeds simply don't get beefy enough to make it worthwhile to grow them into beef cattle; beef breeds are more financially viable, and taste nicer (so I'm told - I don't eat meat). Supermarkets buy most meat, and they dictate what the farmer produces. So the only chance for farmers to sell their male dairy calves is sending them abroad to be fattened as veal calves - which is heavily frowned upon in Britain (quite right, too).

Yes, farmers are probably able to sell the odd male dairy animal as beef, but not the numbers that they have. The solution for selfsufficient folk are dual purpose breeds. Commercially you'd get absolutely nowhere with this, as the milk that those cows give would have to be a lot more expensive than what supermarkets pay now (which isn't enough in any case).

[Andy Hamilton]

Well this program had quite a big impact on me. If I want to get milk that comes from a decent dairy I have to travel half way across town. It is that or buy the stuff I really am not sure of at the local shop. The solution is to buy in bulk and fill up the freezer.

I have also been careful with other dairy products such as cheese, butter and yogurt. I have manged to find somewhere that is pretty close (2 miles away) that sells local organic yogurt and butter (strangely enough not milk though). So I don't buy any dairy products from the supermarket anymore. - Not an easy task when I have 3 major supermarkets as my local shops and nothing that sells local produce within 2 miles.

It was the scene with the bullock being shot in the head that made me change my habits. I don't mind the fact that animals are killed for meat but to be killed for nothing more than market forces is a travesty.