Peter Gittins: Urban-rural divide is stark – and dangerous
Peter Gittins © Supplied by Peter Gittins I’m reminded how disconnected the public are from where their food comes from.
Comments such as “I don’t get inheritance tax relief, so why should farmers”, or “you never see a poor farmer, look at their new tractors” are frustrating, but all too common.
Many forget they need a farmer three times a day. They forget farmers keep supermarket shelves stocked.
See also: Emily Lees – how farmers rallied to help us after accident
They forget farmers maintain the countryside they love to walk in. They forget farming is the backbone of rural communities.
And some don’t just forget – they ignore it, blinded by ideological assumptions.
About the author
In modern society, urban residents have little interaction with farmers. As long as food appears, there’s no concern.
Food has always been there, so they assume it always will be – regardless of rising costs, taxes or farm closures.
To many, a cut of beef is just a cut of beef. How it is produced doesn’t matter.
A survey of children aged seven to 17 found 40% didn’t know, or think, soil was important for food production.
More than one-fifth of six- to 11-year-olds didn’t know what a harvest was. And it found that about one-third of children never have the opportunity to touch soil.
Would policymakers fare much better taking the same survey? I joke, of course – but the point stands. A disconnect matters.
Farmers see the impact of policy changes first-hand, hence their protests. But much of the public responds with indifference or misinformed outrage.
There is a cost to being uninformed – and it leads to poor policy decisions, which affect us all.
I’m often surprised by how many people – including policymakers – assume a hill farmer could easily clear a £200,000 inheritance tax bill.
History shows when governments get agricultural policy wrong, the consequences are severe – and not just for farmers.
Food prices rise, food security weakens, and family farms decline.
Farmers don’t want sympathy. We just want people to understand what’s at stake.
Survey source: ChildWise Playground Buzz Report, Autumn 2023, conducted for The Country Trust