With the rapid, and unexpected, spreading of Foot and Mouth disease, there is
hardly anywhere within mainland Britain which has not been touched.
Farms have been isolated, great swathes of the countryside have been placed
out of bounds, and sporting fixtures have been cancelled.
The sight of cattle, sheep and pigs burning on livestock funeral pyres is now
a familiar feature of the farming landscape.
How the disease first awakened is not yet known. Government attempts to blame
meat imported from Europe were quickly thwarted by the fact that there have
been no Foot and Mouth episodes there.
Accusations that the virus had been deliberately brought into the country by
animal rights activists do not seem to have been taken seriously by the
public, and the later attempts to blame Asian meat have been forgotten as the
scale of infection became realised.
Government claims that the outbreak would be quickly brought under control
were rapidly disproved as cases appeared far and wide across the country. The
spread of infection has been quick and devastating.
Whilst the original cause of the infection has not been found, the course of
its distribution has been identified. The original outbreak appears to have
occurred in the North East where it was spread locally and into Devon as
animals were sold from the cattle markets.
From Devon, infected livestock was sold on again, further afield, infecting
more areas and spreading rapidly.
Fears that infection would spread into mainland Europe and beyond, caused many
countries importing from Britain to impound and destroy all animals, whether
they appeared infectious or not.
Farmers are devastated. Of course they are; these are the custodians of the
countryside who can do no wrong. They reject all assertions that intensive
farming methods and the use of foodstuff made from animal carcasses is wrong,
and are happy to place the blame for BSE, new variant CJD and now the Foot
and Mouth outbreak outside their control.
These are the farmers who are so concerned for the welfare of their animals
and the population at large that, at least some of them, are happy to move
their livestock around the country regardless of bans and restrictions,
causing the disease to be spread even further afield.
Farmers are being compensated for the animals which are facing compulsory
slaughter, yet they complain, regardless of the fact that no industry would
receive such compensation in similar circumstances, and no other profession
would operate without insurance to cover such problems.
It is ironic that whilst
this heavily subsidised group receives compensation, the companies and people
who would normally move the livestock around are told by the government that
there is no money to compensate them, as they sit idly by, unable to earn
their income.
The government must however take some blame for the situation. Even if they have
not encouraged the activities which farmers engage in, they have created the
environment in which the farmers now operate. One where everything must be
efficient, cost effective and driven by market forces.
These very goals are what have lead to the closure of many local markets and
have left only the largest cattle markets open. With animals having to be
shipped great distances across the country, it is not surprising that a minor
infection cannot be contained locally, but escalates into a major disaster
across the whole country.
Tony Blair, Prime Minister, facing farmers, and explaining the governments
position, in the midst of the crisis, sympathised and offered help. In a
rather surprising move, he highlighted the problems which exist with the market
as it stands, discussed organic and intensive farming methods, and acknowledged
that the industry was held in a necklock by the massive supermarket chains
demanding cheaper and cheaper meat.
Whether he has suddenly seen the light, that cutting costs often means reducing
safety, or has taken the opportunity to embark on pre-election rhetoric and
posturing remains to be seen. Blair promised all kinds of things before New
Labour came to power, and has failed to deliver in many cases.
If, as Blair claimed, the government has been talking to the supermarkets, to
get them to ease the pressure on farmers, presumably trying to get them to pay
more for the produce they purchase, it has been done quietly, behind the scenes.
This undoubtedly surprised most farmers, as such a move would be welcomed by
them, and a potential vote winner if it were the case. If it's just something he
concocted to placate them, he will have done nothing but alienate himself and
his party further.
The current crisis is however something which Blair, the government and the
opposition will have to consider when formualting future policy.
Although there are many arguments which can be made in favour of large national,
multi-national and global organisations over small local industries, the, often,
driving force of profit above all, and answerability to share holders rather
than society as a whole, highlights that globalisation may not always be such
a good thing.
In days of old, outbreaks of disease could be confined to local areas, as there
was very little movement of livestock over long distances. With large
organisations with a limited number of operating bases pushing smaller
operators out of business, it becomes impossible to control widespread
contamination, as we have so patently seen.
The anti-capitalist and environmentalist groups are seeing their prophecies of
doom come alive before their very eyes; giving them the satisfaction of knowing
they were right, but probably without gaining much comfort from the fact.
When the crisis is over, and the land is barren of sheep, cattle and swine, the
public will want to know how it happened, and what is going to be done to
prevent similar disasters in the future; they are the ones who will be footing
the bill for the epidemic.
They will be looking to government and the opposition parties to see what they
have to say, and what they plan to do. With a general election in the pipeline
soon, it is likely to be a major topic of debate.
The one thing the public can be grateful of, is the fact that Foot and Mouth is
harmless to humans. They should however be concerned as to what the situation
would have been were this to have been an infection which was life threatening;
the speed and scale of contamination has been truly frightening.
Had this been a 'flu' type of disease, which can jump from swine or fowl to
humans, as have occurred in the past, the mortality rate may by now have been
truly devastating.
This outbreak should be seen as a wake up call to look into modern industrial
and agricultural practices.
Those who see reason to be worried should sit back and consider what the
consequences are of testing genetically modified organisms in the wild are; a
scheme which is happily being supported by both Labour and Conservatives.
And one which we are told presents no danger to the countryside or the nation's
health.
