Keith Brian is right to criticise the government for not giving enough encouragement to our agricultural industry, to adopt organic production methods.

I do, however, wonder about the validity of the 80% figure for the imported organic food we consume. The media is based in London. They may occasionally write about the need to preserve village stores, market town centres and corner shops, but, when it comes to what people buy, they seem to assume that everyone shops only in supermarkets, as they themselves obviously do.

I suspect the 80% figure refers mainly to the sales of the large supermarket chains, which would be much easier to collate than those of the thousands of small independent butchers, dairies, grocers and greengrocers. And it certainly doesn't include the fruit, vegetables, eggs etc., produced from gardens and allotments for home consumption, with any surplus often sold locally at markets such as Liskeard's W.I. Country Market.

Much of the latter is now produced by organic methods, as no doubt is some sold in local shops, but it cannot be labelled as "organic" unless the producer is registered, and the cost of registration is so high that only large-scale commercial producers can contemplate it. It seems to me that there is a need for some system of labelling to cater for non-commercially produced organic food - "eco-produce" perhaps - possibly administered by the local authority.

Even without such a scheme, it makes sense to support local shops and markets, as the goods are less likely to have travelled all round the country and be over-packaged - both of which have implications for the health service, which Keith Brian also mentioned last week.

JANET STANTON

Liskeard