France This Way...the blog!!

Imagine a country with a history of farming that dates back thousands of years. Long before the Romans introduced vines to the countryside, neolithic man had started farming the fertile land. A tradition of fine produce was established that has crossed the centuries and survives until this day. For all those centuries, the inhabitants love of fine food led to a demand for produce of high quality, and people happily paid that price.

Then in recent years the pressure to produce more crops at cheaper prices started. The large supermarkets wanted to buy cheap produce for their customers, not top quality produce. Sadly, shoppers proved happy to compromise – often they prefer to pay less than pay for top quality – money is often short after all.

Inevitably, poorer countries with cheaper labour costs showed themselves willing to provide the products at a lower price. Of course, quality may be poorer. It is easy to produce shiny, attractive but completely tasteless apples for a lower price than unattractive but delicious apples, and easier to sell them as well ,especially when they are cheaper.

It is cheaper to feed cows with all kinds of detritus rather than with grass, and the yield from a fruit orchard will be higher if it is sprayed against pests every few weeks.

So we reach the current situation in France. French farmers are reviled across parts of Europe because of their unwillingness to modernise, to make progress and because they receive large grants from European funds.

But let’s take a step back. The price that farmers receive for crops such as wheat is now much less than it was 10-15 years ago. The fuel price and labour costs have meanwhile escalated. Ok so perhaps they should merge with neighbouring farms, produce crops because they are more profitable, and make fields the size of Essex in which to grow them. Why grow plums in ancient orchards when maize is more profitable and more simple?

Most farming in France has been, and still is, run by families who have owned the same farms for generations. They are now, despite the grants (sadly the lions share of the grants goes to a few large landowners) starting to turn away from farming. When a farmer retires and needs to sell up (his children having moved to the city to find work, and having not the slightest interest in farming) the future buyer will either be a neighbour, realising that large fields are more profitable, or someone considering a travel and tourist venture of some kind.

So where is all this headed? French traditional farming is in decline. Hedgerows will come down, and bungalows will be built on surplus land, so the retired folk can live somewhere nice in what remains of the countryside, in one of the most beautiful countries to be found anywhere in the world. The rest of the grant paying countries of Europe will be happy – food is cheaper, and they are not subsidising France anymore.

But try and remember. To these families of farmers, it is a complete mystery why someone would prefer to pay less, and have a poor quality product. Generations of attention to quality are ingrained. Would you not prefer your beef from a cow that has eaten grass or fruit that hasn’t been sprayed with pesticides?

So yes, things will change, inevitably, but it is worth reflecting whether they are really changing for the better. Europe will save a few billion euros, but in years to come I fear that people will only be able to dream of the fruit they once actually enjoyed eating, because it came straight from a fruit tree.

And next time you load crisps, biscuits, sweets and soft drinks into your shopping trolley, think how much better off we would all have been if we had spent that extra money on buying better quality fruit and vegetables instead.