25A“do or die” Brexit
To The Times
Theleake dYellowhammer
document makesitc lear that a
no-dealBrexit is likely to result
in problems in the supply of
medicines, especially those
with short shelf lives and those
requiring special storage. I
am one of many people who
suffers fromachronic medical
condition but who, with
regular medication, is able
to leadavirtually normal life:
without the medication, my
condition would deteriorate
rapidly. Some of the drugs
Itake have limited shelf lives
and one has to be refrigerated.
Ifear that in the PM’s “do or
die” Brexit,Imay be relegated
to the latter category.
Stephen West, Ipswich, SuffolkIron Age pensioners
To The Guardian
Ther eisacommon
misunderstanding aboutlife
expectancy,ast houg hitisthe
ageatwhich most adults could
expect to die. In fact, the mean
length of life can be heavily
skewed by infant mortality. For
example, in 1850 in England
and Wales life expectancy at
birth was 42, but over 25%
of children died before the age
of five. For those who survived,
life expectancy rose to 57.
Moreover, 10% of people
born in 1850 lived to over 80.
While we do not have
detailed figures for the
Iron Age, it would not be so
unusual for someone with a
life expectancy of 31 at birth,
who then manages to survive
the dangers of childhood, to
live to 60 or later.
Mary Reid, Chessington,
LondonGetting what you vote for
To The Sunday Times
MichaelHeseltineandBetty
Boothroydget into an awful
lather about the “subversion”
of Parliament as they attempt
to stop us leaving the EU.
They overlook the facts that
MPs voted in favour of holding
areferendum; that the majority
of MPs were elected on
manifestos that pledged to
honour the result of that
referendum; that MPs voted
to trigger Article 50 in the
knowledge that it committed
us to leaving; and that it was
MPs who then voted down the
deal that was negotiated withthe EU–onthree occasions.
If the result of all this is the UK
leaving on 31 October with no
deal, that is the result of
decisions made by Parliament.
Where is the subversion?
Eileen Haxby, HarrogateAn unexpected outcome
To The Times
In hi sdepressingbut entirely
realisticarticle ,Daniel
Finkelsteindismissesthefact
that nothingpromisedbythe
currentPMinthe run-up to
the 2016 referendum has been
(or can now be) achieved with
the comment, “Are we going
to cancel every election where
politicians overstate their
case?” Ifaparty fails to deliver
on its manifesto promises it is
out on its ear in no more than
five years, and oftenagood
deal less. Given that we would
have no opportunity to reverse
the consequences of Brexit, we
should be asked if we endorse
the materially different
outcome now on offer.
Nigel Rowe, Staines-upon-
Thames, SurreyIdentity theft isacrime
To The Times
Having been thevicti mof
identity fraudlastNovember
throughahackofmyinternet
provider,myidentityand bank
details have been used to obtain
or attempt to obtain goods
and/or credit facilities from 19
businesses, to my knowledge.
There will be many more of
whichIamunaware, yet my
bank does not advise changing
my bank details, even though
fraudsters have rung me
pretending to be its fraud
department. My details are
flagged with all credit-rating
agencies, yet the
frauds continue.
None of this
is recorded.
Reports to the
police are
redirected to the
Action Fraud
hotline, which
states: “Identity
fraud... is not
apolice
recordable
crime.” My MP,Ben Wallace, then minister for
security and economic crime,
said that only reports from
victim companies were
recorded in cases of identity
fraud. Yet victim companies
will not disclose whether they
have reportedafraud.Ifear
they do not, and that the scale
of identity fraud is vast, and
is not being investigated.
Through vigilanceIhave
not lost anything, but the
stress of beingavictim of this
endless criminal behaviour is
considerable. Parliament must
make identity theft an express
criminal offence. Companies
defrauded when offering
credit facilities should be
required by law to fund the
police to investigate and
prosecute offenders.
James Wood, QC, LondonVibrant beetles
To The Daily Telegraph
Iamsurprisedthat theFrench,
whoare renowned for eating
snails and frogs’ legs, should
be horrified that the food
colouring E120 is made from
crushed cochineal beetles.
In the 19th century, when
man-made dyes were
unavailable, cochineal was
used to produce the famous
crimson paint that the
Midland Railway chose for
its locomotives.Ashortage
of beetles around 1910
necessitatedachange to
brown, then to black.
Red returned, but it no longer
has the lustre of cochineal.
Robin Higgins, Barnoldswick,
Lancashire“Bagpipe terror”
To The Times
Regarding“Bagpipeterror”,
letusnot forget thedefinition
of agentleman:aman who
knowshow to play the
bagpipes–but doesn’t.
John MacKenzie, Cuckfield,
West Sussex24 August 2019 THE WEEKLETTERSPick of the week’s correspondence©THE OLDIE
●Letters have been edited
Exchange of the weekWhat is the true cost of meat?To The Sunday Telegraph
We were surprisedtoreadMattRidley’sarticle(“Th ewar on
meat hasbegun”),given thelarge body of scientific research
showingthe seriousnegativeeffectsof adiethighinmeat.
Animal agriculturecauses over half of food-related
greenhouse gas emissions and only provides 18% of our
calories. It is alsoamajor driver of deforestation. The
primary cause of habitat destruction across Latin America
is the conversion of land to livestock pasture and soy for
animal feed. Red meat is particularly damaging due to
methane emissions and the extensive land requirements of
cattle, goats and sheep. Cutting down on meat is also the
healthier option. Large-scale studies have shown that eating
less meat is linked toalower risk of cardiovascular disease,
obesity, type2diabetes and numerous cancers.
This isn’t about forcing veganism on the world; it’s about
realising that British consumers are eating too much meat,
which is puttingalot of pressure on our planet and our health.
Dr Niki Rust, Newcastle University, Dr Laura Kehoe, Oxford
University, Nicolas Treich, Toulouse School of Economics
and the French National Institute for Agricultural ResearchTo TheDailyTelegraph
Last week, the BBC highlighted the United Nations’s call for
us all to eat less red meat in order to help fight climate change.
Britain’s share of the world’s CO 2 emissions is 1.2%. Of
this, agriculture’s share is 8.64%. Cattle are responsible for
just 2.03% and sheep 0.005% of the British output.
Cutting consumption of dairy products and beef would
make it harder to maintainabalanced diet, cause significant
reductions in rural employment and damage our countryside.
We should also remember that pasture absorbs CO 2.
Why has the Government failed to make these arguments?
Chris Hargraves, Llangunllo, Radnorshire