Dr. James Moran:

It was a very difficult one as it addressed the issue of food politics to a scientist. As scientists, we are loath to talk about politics but we need to engage in it more. However, everyone must realise when a scientist engages in politics it is only another opinion. I do not have the same strength of evidence behind me when I comment on international food politics. There are an awful lot of people in the country who may be better placed to comment, for example, economists who would understand this issue much better. However, from my impressions of what I see, we cannot leave something as important as our food systems to the vagaries of globalisation and international food markets. I do not think we have any pretence about this in Europe; we do not do that. Food production in Europe is not a free market economy. Much of it is governed by the incentives from the Common Agricultural Policy.

While food production in Europe is not a free market economy, the way the system is set up mirrors some of the worst aspects of the free market economy, for example, driving inequality and unfairness in the supply chain. Some of this has been put eloquently and much better by Mr. Sheehan regarding the pressures farmers on the ground are under within that sort of a system. One side argues that this is about European consumers and the health of European citizens but then we drive on and everything is export and profit-led. We must pull back a bit from the brink. Mr. Sheehan spoke about putting a value on things. Where do we put our values? Everyone talks about the unfairness in the supply chain but we need to take serious action on that by having more money go back to the farmers. When we are in rooms talking to farmers they always say, and rightly so, that you cannot be green when you are in the red. The only response to that is that we must create a system whereby the only way out of the red is paved green. This has to go across our international food politics as well but, to be honest, that is way beyond me. I will give an opinion on it but it is only an opinion.