Food vs. environment

"‘At the moment we are in a position where we can devote our countryside to the environment and import our food but you can’t have it both ways," says Agricultural analyst Mark Hill in last nights Our Food Our Future on Radio 4. "You can’t have cheap food and a nice environment at home if global food production is in short supply. You will, one day, have to make a choice as to what is important to you.”

I listened with interest. Since the abolition of set-aside and the rising price of crops is it any wonder that farmers have decided to plough up the grasses of set-aside to plant profitable produce? Sure there may be lapwing’s nesting there, but should their habitat take preference over our food? These are tough questions to answer.

Of course, as you expect, conservation groups are quick to point out that commercial farming can be wildlife friendly. In a recent issue of Countryfile Magazine when discussing the finalists of the Nature of Farming Awards, Dr Darren Moorcraft wrote, “These aren’t nature reserves, they are commercial farms that are producing food. If the UK is going to be sustainable then these farms show the sort of management that we should be aspiring to.”

So, is the future conflict in our fields not going to be fuel vs. food as many have thought but environment vs. food? Did our reliance on cheap food mean that we had the luxury of habitat protection?