Farmers in the US are paid by the government to grow crops that aren't needed, to use wasteful and harmful farming practices, and to keep afloat a system that should have gone under long ago, in its present form.
The English have a similar agriculture situation, but are actually moving to do something about the sorry state of affairs. In particular, they are hoping to bring about reform, with such example moves as:
- paying subsidies not so much for producing crops but increasingly for conserving the countryside
- increasing organic farming substantially, as more than 70% of the organic food eaten in the UK is imported
- requiring farmers to have licences guaranteeing they will work the land in an environmentally friendly way before they can qualify for subsidies
- encouraging them to establish co-operatives and to use farmers' markets
- urging supermarkets to sell more food produced in their own localities.
If only American farmers and lawmakers could be as bold.
