These ones are blunt too!

Iain Dale says that Boris has appointed Rosie Boycott as London's food czar. Rosie, the former editor of the Independent on Sunday, has her own small organic farm it seems, and reckons that if everyone had their own small organic farm then we'd all be much healthier and we'd be helping climate change too. (As Iain points out, we don't exactly want to help climate change, but leave that aside for the moment.)

You have to wonder about the collective intelligence of the journalistic classes don't you? You can tell them till you're blue in the face that small farms are more inefficient than big ones; that this means that they use more resources than small ones, and that this is bad for the environment; and that all of this goes doubly for organic farms.

And no matter how hard you try to ram this simple fact into their dull heads, they just don't get it.

It's amazing. These people - Boris and Rosie - have reached the very peaks of the journalistic profession, with the six figure salaries and the small organic farms that go to those in these exalted positions, and yet to any mildly educated outside observer they appear to be semi-educated half-wits. I'm left wondering who is worse: the dumb journalist who can't understand simple economics or the dumb journalist who appoints her to run a department in London's government.

Comments

[Serf]

What the hell is a Food Czar, and why does London need one. My experience of our Capital city is that there is a hell of a lot of great food available, of all types. It seems to have managed perfectly well without a Czar (an absolute monarch, with a god given right to rule).

[DocBud]

Just goes to prove that the tories are as big a load of complete and utter spendthrift tossers as labour. They should be standing up for the ratepayers and taxpayers and kicking useless parasites out of government, not inviting more onto the gravy train.

[Bishop Hill]

Good point DocBud. Boris has been rumoured to be a libertarian of some sort. It looks as though that particular story can be laid firmly to rest.

[Mac the Knife]

I had hoped for better. The tories I gave up on long ago, but from Boris I hoped for some spark of radicalism, even Libertarianism. More fool me. *sighs*

[Nigel Sedgwick]

Firstly, I'd like to strongly support Serf in his question re Food Czar: "... why does London need one?"

Secondly, concerning the difference between small and large organisations (be they farms or otherwise), it is my understanding that large is good because of the economies of scale, and small is good because of ease of innovation. There are, doubtless, other issues too. Also, innovation is, most likely, a longer-term good, though economies of scale might also take some time (to say nothing of investment) to realise.

Anyway, is Bishop Hill really taking a partisan position on size?

Best regards

[DocBud]

I know London is hosting the Olympics but look how many people are going over from London. I hope the parasitic swine choke on the smog.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/othersports/olympics/2511874/How-the-public-is-spending-7million-on-Beijing-Olympic-staff.html

h/t The Englishman

[Billy Barnett]

Don't you mean "than big ones"?