Endangered species of the political kind

At time of writing, the Times vote on whether we should be in or out of the EU was 56% OUT to 44% IN. Calton voted OUT. That should come as no surprise to his regular readers. If we left the EU our farmers would at least be able to bury their dead sheep instead of paying the knacker to take them away. We would be able to manage our own fish stocks. We wouldn't be forced into an unaffordable energy policy by EU directives. We would be our own boss again. Unfortunately Alex Salmond is so wedded to the European ideal that even UKIP's tremendous gains in last week's English elections fail to warn him of his impending doom if he carries on down the EU path. For far too long our political elite have not been listening to voters and have not given them a choice on Europe (or gay marriage). It's therefore no surprise that UKIP are cleaning up - no the EU, no to gay marriage, no to windfarms. What's not to like? (Unless you are a Libdem, in which case you are an endangered species.) If the SNP don't start listening to the electorate, they too will be on the endangered list.

Help our farmers

Calton does like people who are not afraid to speak their mind. Like Sheriff Richard Davidson, who likened the recent sectarianism at football matches legislation to "mince". Like Nigel Farage, who has just described the leaders of the three main political parties in England as an "out of touch bunch of college kids" who have "never done a day's work in their lives". Nadine Dorries clearly has some competition. As do local councillors from the main parties in next year's local government elections in England. UKIP are gaining support because they identify with the concerns of ordinary people, like immigration from Eastern Europe and windfarms, not gay marriage and trying to reform the EU (a hopeless task if ever there was one). Meanwhile, here in Scotland, our Government seems to be spending most of its time bandying about statistics to try and prove that we could go it alone. Out of touch with the concerns of ordinary people? Hmmm. At least Rural Affairs Secretary Richard Lochhead has recognised the plight of Scottish farmers and has promised help. Let's just hope he delivers.

Quality, not quantity

If you pay peanuts you get monkeys and if you pay pennies you get horsemeat. A bit obvious really. In the old days, if people couldn't afford meat they ate vegetables or pulses and were a lot healthier as a result. Now, people expect to get a quality ready-cooked meat meal for a quid and want to eat meat every day. It's no use blaming the supermarkets - if people didn't buy it, they wouldn't stock it. They are only catering to our demand for cheap food and our expectation that meat should be a staple rather than a luxury. Similary, councils and NHS Trusts are going for the lowest price when it comes to catering and so, lo and behold, we now have horsemeat in school dinners. Calton is only surprised that they have found so little of it. If this current scandal causes us, as a nation, to re-examine our addiction to cheap, junk food, so much the better. Quality, not quantity, is what's needed.

An eggy story for Pancake Day

Egg theft is a heinous crime, but it has taken a new twist recently with the theft of around 60 dozen hens' eggs from a farm in Angus. Now, either the thieves don't realise that egg collectors are not interested in the eggs of the farmyard hen, or they have decided to replace their meat intake with eggs in the wake of the horsemeat scandal, or they are aiming for a place in the Guinness book of records for the largest omelette, or they are planning to stockpile their haul until the next election comes around, or they are holding an enormous pancake party tonight. Whatever the reason, if someone offers you half-a-dozen pre-scrambled eggs that have fallen off the back of a lorry, just say no. And if you happen to see any suspicious characters with egg on their faces, Tayside Police would like to hear from you.

Fish is good for you

Calton does not have any objection to eating horsemeat per se, however he does like to know the provenance of what he is eating. He doesn't want to be eating some old nag from Provence which expired of goodness knows what disease before it even got to the knacker's yard. That's the real problem with all this - not the type of animal but the condition it was in before it became lasagne. That and a small issue with the Trades Descriptions Act. Our farmers can trace an animal from birth to table - they are being badly let down by the actions of unscrupulous meat providers from other countries. If ever there was a time to buy British, from your local butcher, it's now. Or turn vegetarian. Calton is having a nice wee bit of salmon for his tea tomorrow night. Freshly caught. From a fish farm.

Keep Scotland's milk green

Being a dairy farmer is a thankless task at the best of times and has been made even more so by the recent reductions in the price they get for their milk. It is not surprising, therefore, that they are getting together to launch a campaign against the cuts and Calton hopes that they are successful. Otherwise we risk losing dairy farming altogether from Scotland and having our milk transported up from England or, even worse, Europe. How green is that? It's time that big business stopped squeezing our dairy farmers who get up early, come rain or shine, 365 days a year to provide us with one of our staples. I'm sure most of us would not grudge an extra penny or two on our pinta in order to keep our milk Scottish.