ON THE IMPORTANCE OF A SECURE FOOD SUPPLY

To sustain any acceptable life in the British Isles two things are vital - an assured energy supply and an assured supply of food. Being an island the latter as well as being the most important is also the most problematical.

In the two wars in the 20th century a major effort was exerted by the enemy to disrupt all supplies by sea and to use starvation as a weapon. Vast tonnages of ships and cargo were sent to the bottom by submarine attack; in the second world war, supplemented by air bombardment. Britain was fortunate then to have a vast merchant ship fleet which she no longer possesses.

For a long time during the days of Empire Britain imported food from the cheapest source. That ended when Britain joined the Common Market and such supplies were penalised in order to prevent competition with food of continental origin. At the same time it was considered sensible that food production within the Common Market should occur in those areas best suited to the particular product. UK produce somehow seldom seemed to fall in that category and for reasons both market driven and by regulation, food production has been discouraged in the British Isles. There is now a deliberate policy to convert the remaining farmers into countryside wardens in a rather large theme park. All of this means that Britain can no longer feed itself.

That would not matter so much if we lived in a world from which war has been banished for ever. Because there has been no European war since 1945 (outside the Balkans), indeed in the lifetime of anybody under 60, there is a tendency to believe that such is the case. I am sorry to say that this is a delusion.

Steps are being taken under a bland surface which, if people are as stupid as they always have been, will inevitably lead to conflagration. As always it is about power - who controls what - and how far those who crave power are prepared to go to get it, and what they think they can get away with. It is at this last point that the danger arises because in the past there has always been miscalculation

It is essential therefore, in my opinion, for the disastrous policy of past decades to be reversed and if the European Union does not like it so be it. British agriculture must be able as far as possible to provide a survival diet for the inhabitants of the island. That means meat, milk, bread, vegetables and fruit in season.

There are cost implications of course. It is hardly possible to compete on price with production based upon near slave labour conditions. As insurance the cost must be accepted. Would we prefer to starve?

Before Britain was hijacked into the Common Market and the follies of the CAP, a simple system had been devised which left the producer to get the best price he could for his product, high or low, but ensured at the end of the day that his income did not fall below a tolerable standard agreed year on year between the farmers and the government.

This system was called Deficiency Payments and combined the best elements of the free market with subsidy. It was the producer who was subsidized, not his product. The aim was to fix the subsidy at a level which would ensure that the producer had an incentive to do the best for himself that he could in the market place.

Since those days we have witnessed the huge growth in importance of supermarkets and their influence in food supply. Their commercial interests cannot be allowed to take precedence over the long term survival of the nation. Nothing less is involved.

In untrammelled times there must be a place for supplies from Australia, New Zealand, Canada and other Commonwealth countries. They will at least always be made willingly available if transport is possible. It must be borne in mind however that such supplies can be disrupted.

The United Nations, which was intended to outlaw war, has done no such thing. There are umpteen wars going on right now which it can do nothing about - in Africa, in Chechnya, in Afghanistan, in Iraq and in Palestine, whilst others are rattling their weapons eager to join the general mayhem. All the while the major power players - Russia, Germany, France, the super player the USA and future players China and India - jockey for position.

In spite of the absence of war on our doorstep it is an uncertain world. Britain would do well to ensure that it will not starve and it can rely on nobody more certainly than on itself.