Who's to blame?

Special report: Foot and mouth disease

The Observer, Sunday March 4 2001

UK farmers

Yes The squalid conditions in which the pigs are kept act as breeding grounds for the disease, and the transport of animals across the country spreads it far and wide.

No Sheep and cows also get the disease. It is the Government's fault that so many abattoirs have closed down and animals have to be transported so far for slaughter

Supermarkets

Yes They have farmers over a barrel, and have driven down profits and standards of farming. They are responsible for promoting the industrialisation of agriculture which has led to the current outbreak.

No The Government is responsible for agricultural policy in the UK, not supermarkets, which simply respond to the demand from customers.

Animal activists

Yes They brought the disease to this country in a deliberate act of sabotage against livestock farmers.

No They would have had to knowingly buy an infected animal or infected meat and smuggle it into this country, which would be extremely difficult.

Foreign farmers

Yes The disease clearly came from somewhere, and there have been outbreaks in many other countries.

No There is no evidence that foreign farmers are particularly to blame. There are strict import controls on infected meat - which obviously failed - and the disease could have entered the country in something as simple as a cured meat sandwich.

The government

Yes The Government has driven the policy of cheap food that has lead to the industrialisation of agriculture which created the conditions for the disease to spread.

No The Government implements strict controls on hygiene and animal husbandry that has ensured that Britain hasn't had a significant outbreak of foot and mouth for over 30 years.