Food Supply
Not really a problem for NZ. Apparently NZ produces three times as much food as it consumes. There are issues of fertiliser use, e.g. peak phosphorus, etc. Ben Davies
The point about food production and cutting out the middleman are right on the money. I wonder if the rules on slaughtering were pushed by supermarkets to industrialise the distribution and prevent farmers from bypassing the system. It's bizarre that consumers and producers both end up being worse off in terms of quality, freshness and price because a large chunk of the money is bound for shareholders. It makes a mockery of the idea that the hidden hand of capitalism magically makes everyone better off. It is noticeable and highly frustrating that the quality of food is far superior and the price is better value over just 20 miles of ocean in France. We appear incapable of importing fresher French produce because local supermarkets only buy from the UK. It is also blatantly obvious that although French chickens are much smaller, they taste far better and they have proper length bones. I cannot bear to eat a chicken if it has cost any less than £8. That's not being snobbish - I just want to make sure that the animal has had a half decent life - or perhaps it is exactly the same and M&S see people like me as mugs. It is not the fault of producers in factory farms - they are paid just 3 pence per chicken and are forced to mass produce simply to break even. Hugo Bouleau