ONCE again farming finds itself in crisis. The facts again point to the free market and globalisation as the chief causes.

This has meant that while pork consumption in the UK has remained the same, retailers and manufacturers have been importing those parts of the carcass where there is a national shortage and exporting those in surplus, leaving the way open for trans-national cross-contamination of diseases.

Globalisation has affected abattoirs, streamlining the industry, which has seen the loss of about half our abattoirs. Animals are now transported over vast distances and this is the major factor in this foot and mouth outbreak.

Sheep were taken from Northumberland to Carlisle and were bought by a dealer who then took them all the way to Devon.

The animals must have been really stressed by this constant movement, leaving them vulnerable to infection.

To safeguard food security, we need meat from local animals produced in local abattoirs, which will minimise the risks of disease-spread.

It would also be prudent to make it law that all animals shipped from one farm to another should have to remain at their destination for four weeks, giving them time to recover and any disease time to appear.

GRAHAM CARTER, Kingsway, Lower Darwen, Blackburn.