Ban yellow fields now! (Well not really but you get the point)

Yesterday while driving home through the glorious early summer sunshine, we passed through a bright yellow field of rape. As we drove I took in the sickly smell, felt the tell-tale itchiness in my eyes and the tightening of the throat – hayfever here we go!

It’s terrible you know. This agriculture stuff I mean – every year death rates from respiratory diseases rise during high pollen periods while farmers and their big business friends make profits from our suffering. And there are tertiary effects on non-hayfever sufferers not to mention workplace issues.

And the number of hayfever sufferers is rising – we have the makings of an epidemic of sneezing, spluttering and coughing. And nothing is being done to control or regulate the source. Millions of people are suffering, living in misery – even dying – because of hayfever. Yet the government takes no action, farmers are permitted to carry on polluting the atmosphere and making profits while others suffer.

What do you mean you’re not going to do anything? You acted because some folk got itchy eyes, irritated throats and maybe even died because of passive smoking? You’re in the process of doing the same for alcohol? But those of us whose lives are made a misery by pollen – we’re expected to lump it, eh? And my friend who can’t go in a theatre because of perfume – what are you going to do about that?

Or is your attack on drinking and smoking just an attack on our pleasures and nothing to do with health?

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