Second fundamental: the Common Agricultural Policy is a sophisticated mechanism for making sure we don’t starve. Scarcity causes disputes and without food security, peace would be impossible: people do nearly anything if they are hungry enough. Europe’s complex network of subsidies means that when a harvest fails at one end of the continent no one starves because we have slack in the system and the only ‘crisis’ to speak of involves pricing. Europe subsidises its food production, which makes it more expensive than food in most of the rest of the world, but – guess what? – we can afford our expensive food due to the prosperity that our long-term political stability has given us. Moreover the percentage of our income spent on food is diminishing.
People don't buy this crap do they? The CAP makes food more expensive and, to cap it all, means that we make a major contribution to killing folk in Africa who might want to compete with our expensive and inefficient farmers. Using the CAP as a justification for EU membership is an exercise in masochism - all the CAP means is higher food prices and more poverty in developing countries.
...
No comments:
Post a Comment