Fw: FOE CALLS FOR LONG-TERM AID FOR SUSTAINABLE FARMING

Originally from: Susan Staunton
                        

Subject: FOE.PRESS.RELEASE: FOE CALLS FOR LONG-TERM AID FOR SUSTAINABLE
FARMING

Web version:
http://www.foe.co.uk/pubsinfo/infoteam/pressrel/2001/20011018152609.html

Immediate Release: Thursday 18 October 2001

FOE CALLS FOR LONG-TERM AID FOR SUSTAINABLE FARMING

Friends of the Earth has welcomed today's recommendations by Lord
Haskins for short term support for farmers and small businesses
hit by the Foot and Mouth Crisis. But FOE is disappointed by Lord
Haskin's suggestion that farmers should not expect long term
support. FOE is calling for a radical new agricultural policy
which rewards farmers for good stewardship of the land, protection
of wildlife and contributions to the local economy.

FOE also warned that many farmers now being offered short-term
help won't survive if the Government remains committed to further
trade liberalisation. UK farmers trying to produce food that
meets high environmental and welfare standards face being squeezed
out by cheaper, lower quality produce from abroad. Only large
intensive farms would be able to compete. If farmers are to have
a future in the UK they must also be protected from the worst
practices of supermarkets, identified by the Competition
Commission last year.

FOE is urging the Government to act on Lord Haskins recommendation
that local food initiatives should be supported. Local food
initiatives keep more money in the local economy, create jobs for
rural areas and give a better deal to farmers and consumers. FOE
agrees that farmers should enter into co-operative ventures and
wants to see more support from the Regional Development Agencies
to enable them to do so. Farmers cannot enter into collaborative
marketing initiatives unless the right infrastructure is in place.
For example the loss of small abbattoirs is a major barrier to
more local marketing of meat.

Sandra Bell, Real Food Campaigner at Friends of the Earth said:
"We welcome short term financial help for farmers and businesses
hit by the Foot and Mouth Crisis. However, farmers also need long
term support to enable them to deliver environmental and social
benefits, and produce high quality food in the face of competition
in the global market place. We welcome Lord Haskins
recommendation that local food initiatives should be supported.
But farmers and small businesses also need protection in law from
the bullying behaviour of the big supermarkets. Otherwise only
the biggest, most intensive farmers may survive. This would have
disastrous consequences for our food, our countryside and our
wildlife"

Originally from: Susan Staunton
                        
FOOD JUSTICE: An end to food poverty

The campaign for the Food Poverty (Eradication) Bill

Public Meeting – Admission: FREE
7.00 – 9.30 pm, 14th November, 2001
at the Emmanuel Centre, 9–23 Marsham Street, Westminster, London

Food Poverty – in the UK? Yes: here in the UK, an estimated four million
people cannot afford to eat a healthy diet and therefore have a
significantly increased risk of developing conditions such as heart
disease and cancer. Buying healthy foods can cost up to 50% more than
low-cost, nutritionally poor alternatives. The lack of shops selling
healthy food in poor areas, and the loss of cooking skills, also
contribute to the problem. Buying a balanced diet in a socially
acceptable way has become a 'privilege' from which millions are
excluded. According to a Parliamentary Motion signed by 198 MPs:

– Up to 5,000 people in each Parliamentary constituency may be
malnourished.
– An estimated 40% of people admitted to hospital are malnourished.

This cannot continue; urgent action is needed. Food Justice is a
coalition campaign to get a legal duty on government to ensure an end to
food poverty within 15 years: The Food Poverty (Eradication) Bill.

Speakers at the public meeting will include:
– Alan Simpson MP, Member of Parliament for Nottingham South
– Professor Tim Lang, Chair of Sustain: The alliance for better food &
farming
– Charles Secrett, Director of Friends of the Earth
– Chair: Robin Simpson, National Consumer Council
– Don Foster MP, Member of Parliament for Bath
– David Amess MP, Member of Parliament for Southend West
– Judy Ling Wong, Director of the Black Environment Network
– Reverend Paul Nicolson, Zacchaeus Trust

This public meeting will mark the launch of the Food Justice campaign,
and of the report: "Food Poverty: Policy options for the new
millennium?" published by Sustain: The alliance for better food and
farming.

We invite you to attend the meeting to find out more about food poverty;
to consider becoming an individual or organisational signatory to the
campaign; to hear news of the parliamentary bill, and to find out about
action needed to ensure that four million of our fellow citizens can
enjoy a healthy diet.

Space is limited. Please book a free place by contacting: Kath Dalmeny
(Launch Organiser), Food Justice Campaign, 94 White Lion Street, London
N1 9PF. Tel (answerphone only): 020 7263 0627; email:
...; www.foodjustice.org.uk.

For other enquiries, please contact the Campaign Coordinator Ron Bailey:
020 8698 3682; email: ....

Coalition organisations include:
– Black Environment Network
– Child Poverty Action Group
– Church Action on Poverty
– Communities Against Poverty
– The Food Commission
– Friends of the Earth
– Help the Aged
– The National Housing Federation
– Sustain: The alliance for better food and farming
– UK Public Health Association
– UNISON: The public service union
– Women's Environmental Network