tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4411161795798360588.post6838343956632144412..comments2024-03-26T09:38:39.888+00:00Comments on Borthlas: Blaming Varadkar is just a diversionJohn Dixonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07447224248021209852noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4411161795798360588.post-52941173615208428512019-08-08T09:40:51.116+01:002019-08-08T09:40:51.116+01:00"It really is all so simple, you just need th...<i>"It really is all so simple, you just need the facts".</i> Would that the first part was actually in accord with the second part, but in truth it really isn't simple (and oversimplifying it doesn't help), and whilst we need the facts we need the ones which accord with reality rather than the 'facts' which only accord with our own prejudices.<br /><br />Subsidies for Welsh farming aren't really relevant to the original post, but your underlying point <i>"If lamb needs subsidising in order to sell it"</i> is just plain wrong - although it does neatly underline some of the ideological differences surrounding Brexit. Lamb (like all other farm produce) can be produced and sold without subsidy, no problem. There would, though, be an impact on the price. For the Brexiteers / free marketeers, the 'solution' is simply to buy at the lowest price in global markets, and there's no doubt that such a policy is viable, in the short to medium term at least. However, for those of us who want to reduce food miles and ensure food security through home production, as well as sustaining the communities producing such food, the choice is between higher prices and subsidies. I think there's a valid argument for saying that food prices are kept artificially low through agricultural subsidies, but I doubt that any politician arguing that food prices must be increased to a 'market' level would find him or herself very popular. Both the UK and the EU have chosen the path of subsidy / import controls / food security rather than depending on the global market and being entirely price-driven. Being outside the EU might well make it easier to pursue the alternative path, but it doesn't make it any more desirable.John Dixonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07447224248021209852noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4411161795798360588.post-62371901144524612292019-08-01T11:14:07.384+01:002019-08-01T11:14:07.384+01:00I think most people watching recent news about the...I think most people watching recent news about the tremendous subsidies offered to farmers for Welsh lamb are rapidly changing their views.<br /><br />We need to get out of this EU nonsense fastest. If lamb needs subsidising in order to sell it we need to produce less lamb!<br /><br />It really is all so simple, you just need the facts!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com