The Farmers Mart Aug/Sep 2014 - Issue 35 | Page 5

FARM NEWS Landworkers’ Alliance welcome Patterson’s dismissal Farmers and growers from the Landworkers’ Alliance (LWA) welcome Owen Paterson’s dismissal from the position of Environment Secretary. Mr Paterson was sacked as part of the conservative cabinet reshuffle. The environment minister infamously said that global warming could be good for the UK, backed GM crops and presided over the highly controversial badger cull. Commenting on the sacking, Rebecca Jones, a farmer and member of the Landworkers’ Alliance said: “His unashamed focus on corporate agribusiness over the needs of farmers and the environment has been costly to good food and farming. We hope that his successor, Liz Truss, will put the environment back in Environment Secretary, and stand up to the corporate interests who will try to lead her away from environmental concerns and the needs of farmers. To read more, visit www.farmers-mart.co.uk She added: “Ecological land use and properly funded small farms hold the key to dealing with the multiple issues of climate chaos, food security and rural unemployment. The Landworkers’ Alliance looks forward to meeting Liz Truss and discussing how she will work with us to mainstream the solutions that our members are already putting in place.” The Landworkers’ Alliance says hopes to work with Liz Truss to create supportive policy for agro-ecological farming and to level the playing field for small-scale food producers who often receive little or no financial support from the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) despite providing high yields of quality food, and high levels of employment, per unit land area, alongside countless social and community benefits. The Al