SUZANNE RYDER, RSM,
Madam, - As the farmers find their way home again, I wonder if we realise the seriousness of the situation they have highlighted. The food we eat is too often laced with oil. This is the oil that has transported it from across the world, just to allow us the delicacy of food that is not in season, or being produced in our own land.
Apart from the price we pay for any particular item in the shop, a huge environmental cost has been exacted. Today, for most of our food, there is an energy ratio of 100:1. This means that for every 100 calories used to produce, package and transport food, we only get a one-calorie return in food value. No business can sustain such a deficit. Our precious planet is groaning with this burden. Let us come to our senses before our agricultural sector becomes defunct. - Yours, etc.,
SUZANNE RYDER, RSM, European Mercy Justice Office, Sisters of Mercy, Eblana Avenue, Dun Laoghaire, Co Dublin.