, the president of the National Farmers’ Union, met Johnson in the days before the publication of his food strategy, warning him that he was in danger of losing the farming vote.
Batters said she told Johnson farmers wanted to see a change in focus from nature recovery back to food production. “It is nice to deliver public goods but first and foremost we have to be supported to produce food. I made this point to the PM,” she said, adding: “Farmers have a statutory underpinning on trees and nature – but we would like to see one on food production otherwise it will be left behind – .”that it is “criminal” to frame farming as meat versus trees and going vegan, adding that an “honest conversation” about grasslands and the carbon they store “hasn’t been allowed to happen”.
Some farmers argue that the land used for pasture, particularly that in the barren uplands, is useless for anything else due to the poor nutrient content of the soil. But this is the very land Dimbleby believes should be taken out of food production and rewilded. Taking just 5% out of production and restoring the lost landscapes they used to contain could be enough, he said.
“One of the arguments people make about pasture is that land is not good for anything else,” he said. “But actually, even more than the actual direct carbon emissions from ruminants, the opportunity cost of the land they occupy is huge. We destroyed most of our rainforests 1,000 years ago in this country but most of that land has huge potential to store carbon. Almost all the land you took out of food production should be low-grade extensive pasture.
Now that is what you'd call a load of bull sh-t!
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