Unfair to the Third World

To appreciate the unique affection enjoyed by the British farmer, it is necessary to look no further than the bumf put out for British Food Fortnight, a series of harvest festivals, farmers’ markets and barbecues to be held across the country from 20 September to 4 October. ‘Farmers would gain if we could all eat more locally, regionally and UK-produced food,’ it reads, before suggesting some prayers for the brave men who plough the furrow in their Massey Fergussons.

Let us hope there is room in those prayers for the soul of Lee Kyung-hae, a Korean cattle farmer who last week stabbed himself through the heart outside the World Trade Organisation meeting in Cancun, Mexico, protesting at the trade barriers that keep his food out of Western markets and the subsidies that allow Western farmers to dump food in his home market. If Lee was hoping that his gesture might inspire the delegates within, he died a disappointed man; as he bled to death, American and European Union negotiators were still refusing to countenance any cut in subsidies.