Posted by dereklane on September 4, 2019, 5:56 am, in reply to "Re: 'Cheaper food'"
I get that, to which I responded, because it doesn't make sense on the basis of why I understand about cap. Subsidies, as Keith pointed out (particularly in farming) are to protect the market, not the farmer or the consumer.
Surely that is obvious, but it seems ATM that any old nonsense flies if it's pro remain. Or am I missing something obvious to everyone else but me? It is always a possibility, but I feel I know a thing or two about the unnatural state of farming in the uk (as I did in oz, growing up).
Added to all this is the environmental aspect that have been put aside by the crowd here to argue the pro remain line, because I guess it makes things tidier, and I'm feeling a bit confused about the quick sell out to capitalism and env destruction. I guess I hoped for more consistency in the arguments on board here.
The single farm payment is without any doubt a market protector and nothing else. Create gluts of produce, and prices plummet. Stock for export (like sheep), maintain a high price in local supermarkets, because the export market is lucrative and sheep can be grazed on subsidies land.
The import of the lions share of produce for the consumer market here comes not just from Europe, but north and South America, New Zealand and Australia, the China south seas, India and Israel to name some of the biggest import regions. Europe is just one of many, and most of it from everywhere is entirely unnecessary. Why for example export most lamb grown here (one of the true U.K. Products, because sheep don't live on American soy), then import nz lamb at inflated prices? Because the control of produce and stock is a cynical one, not tied to protection of uk consumer prices remaining low, or uk farmers wealth remaining high, but to the international market instead.
I suspect most here are aware of the bullshit but are choosing to ignore aspects inconvenient to their arguments, which is why I keep not getting responses.
Or, I am missing something big that would otherwise change my mind on this aspect at least.