A detail that has embittered the dispute is that the
retailers have apologized by saying that the farmers do not know their own business ; and that the Ministry of Agriculture is autocratic. Now British farmers—according to a recent and expert estimate—receive from 30 to 40 per cent. less of the value of their produce than New Zealand farmers. A large part of that sum goes presumably to the distributors, who make bigger profits in Britain than in any country in the world. Not unnaturally they dislike any regulation as to the source or quality of their purchases. But the National Mark scheme is purely voluntary. It is an attempt slowly but progressingly to persuade the consumers that native food is best, and worth paying for. It is hoped that its effects will be cumulative ; and its most thoughtful organ- isers do not expect the full virtues of the scheme to be developed in less than ten years' time. The retailers' further excuse that there is no public demand for National Mark beef is, therefore, beside the point, since the scheme aims at developing the taste little by little. Such a preference in the public may be called the sentimental alternative to Protection.
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