Help us to recover a feel for the land, to value the importance of food and the sharing of it in our in our lives. Help us to recognise the interdependence of all of life and the importance of just relations and responsible stewardship of all you continue to give us, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Together People in Scotland today are almost totally alienated from the sources of their food. They have little or no relationship with farmers or food producers, except the person at the supermarket check out. In addition, stories of large cash handouts by way of compensation to farmers who have lost livestock do not in any way help understanding between these communities.
Many small farmers are in a state of total economic ruin and despair.
The level of rural poverty, already apparent before Foot and Mouth, is becoming far worse. Without good communication between the countryside and the town we are in danger of loosing the vital connection between the consumer and the producer and failing to understand the problems of rural poverty, which often go unreported. The whole community, urban and rural is responsible for the future of agriculture and the well-being of the land. A masterpiece of understatement I would suggest. The truth is there is a long and deep-rooted antipathy that prevents the recognition that we are partners in victimisation by rampant global capitalism.