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Regional secretary with the National Education Union
Food production: it's time a for a rural rising
Simple improvements in countryside communities' income, working conditions and economic support is urgently necessary, but a plan for a revolution in agriculture is also needed — and entirely feasible, argues PHIL KATZ

THE WAR in Ukraine has demonstrated how tenuous our food chain is. Climate change and July’s record-breaking heatwave served as a warning, as animals and crops struggled with the heat as much as humans. The threat of water shortage is back. Seven million adults visited a foodbank in May. And in a country that imports more than 80 per cent of its fruit and over 45 per cent of its vegetables from abroad, fuel price rises will affect food price rises.

Monopoly ownership in the energy, water and food sectors will ensure that prices carry on rising. To transform our countryside we need first to talk about land ownership, monopoly control of food retail, hedge fund speculation, climate change and long-term plans.

Who owns what?

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