A state of denial with regards to food security
YOUR article concerning food banks ( Food banks a poor solution as hungry families stay away , The Herald, October 17) quoted Professor Ade Kearns as suggesting that “the problem of food insecurity is much larger than treatment by food banks”. There is a real problem with discussing food security, at both the individual and state level. Food banks have become another gambit in the unceasing game of political chicanery. For instance, to read much of the exhortations for Scots to emulate Nordic countries you might be left with the impression that such institutions did not exist there. In fact, Sweden, Denmark, Finland and, wait for it, Norway, all have food banks. Furthermore, they all have between 3.6 and 6.7 per cent of their population in need of social assistance (2013 Figures). The two behemoths of continental Europe, France and Germany, have very large numbers of food banks and that was before the influx of refugees added to Germany’s need for them.
At the level of the state, there seems to have been very limited reporting in the UK of the recent German Government advice to all its citizens to stockpile enough food and water for five and 10 days, respectively. Such a call by any government in the British Isles would be met with complete disbelief that the supermarkets would not always be full. However, the British Isles no longer produces enough food to feed the population, so it wouldn’t take much disruption to cause shortages, be it through natural disasters or human agency.
Unfortunately, no politician is likely to stand up and admit this, either because they cannot understand the concept, or they simply will not admit it.
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Dr Ronnie Gallagher,
5 Wyndhead Steading, Lauder.