A right Royal rollicking

PRINCE CHARLES has attacked the food industry and the “aggressive search for cheap food”.

 

In a speech at the Langenburg Forum on Regional Food Security in Germany, he said: The drive to make food cheaper for consumers and to earn companies bigger profits is sucking real value out of the food production system – value that is critical to its sustainability.”

 

In a nod to organic farming, he added: “Am I alone in wondering how it is that those who are farming according to organic, or agro-ecological principles are then penalised? They find that their produce is considered too expensive and too ‘niche market’ to be available to everyone.

 

“How is it, then, that systems of farming which do precisely the opposite – with increasingly dire and damaging effects on both the terrestrial and marine environments, not to mention long-term human health – are able to sell their products in mass markets at prices that in no way reflect the immense and damaging cost to the environment and human health?”

 

Prince Charles said the food system had to be “recalibrated” and “re-geared”.

 

He concluded: “In short, our food systems need to have better networks which are less globally dependent and more locally inter-connected. Moving in that direction could solve lots of problems.”