I AM concerned that Scotland will lose our high EU standards of environmental protections and food standards if/when we are forced into a US trade deal.
What can the Scottish Government do to ensure we are still able to buy EU food products that are clearly labelled “contain no GM” and are not infused with toxic pesticides/herbicides that are banned in the EU? How can we avoid being sold US meat that is washed in several disinfectants to “disguise” in random testing the harmful bacteria (listeria, e-coli and salmonella etc)?
Why would “Trump Junior” want to do business with “Trump Senior” when “Trump Senior” has revoked 84 of Obama’s environmental policies?
I hope the Scottish Government has a cunning plan, or will we be forced to sell black market EU food in a car park at midnight? It’s a serious problem for vegans, vegetarians and anyone who is careful about what they eat.
Greta MacDougal
via email
CAN I just say one word to Alasdair Forbes of Farr and Dougie Gray of Dunbar (The Long Letter, September 3)? That word is Aldi.
Never mind the Union jacks. Support the Saltires that you will find plenty of in Aldi. I now find my purchases from Morrison’s have dropped by around 75%, but I still eat very well on Scottish poultry, Scottish pork, beef and lamb, and if
I want it I can have German or French ham (not EU ham); or Yorkshire (not British) mushrooms. You can even get Norfolk (not British) turkey.
Maybe if the 52% who support independence – as reported some weeks ago and probably a bigger percentage now – were to vote with their feet and go to the shops that don’t splash red, white and blue over their merchandise regardless of its source (anybody seen a nice bit of Welsh lamb lately?) maybe, just maybe, the Union jacks would disappear off the shelves.
If you wish to wage a war against Union Jackery, that’s how you do it. Just don’t buy it. There are plenty of good-quality, inexpensive, Scottish alternatives.
Charlie Kerr
Glenrothes
AS a regular road user of the A9 it would seem to me that the government's planned completion of this project is unattainable.
Would it not therefore be prudent for the government to amend this date to a more realistic time-frame?
This could be done by also diverting some of the planned funding towards "dualling" more of the rail line between Perth and Inverness.
This would have the advantage of 1) pleasing the environment/green advocates, 2) reducing the train travel time and thus appealing to all travellers and possibly encouraging road users to switch, 3) making rail freight transportation more appealing to hauliers, and 4) giving the Scottish Government Brownie points for being progressive towards climate change etc.
George Bertram
In the Black Isle
THE tragic death of a cyclist on the Tour o the Borders deeply saddened all of us involved, whether cyclists or organisers, and our thoughts are with his family and relatives in their time of unimaginable grief.
As a participating cyclist I have to say it is not helpful for the press to refer to the event as a race. It is a sportive open to cyclists of varying abilities. It is not a race and I saw no-one racing. There are no prizes and everyone who finishes receives a commemorative medal.
There is no incentive from the organisers to race, indeed they spend much time and effort asking people not to. The marshalling and policing of this event was exceptional. They are constantly visible, attentive and helpful. Their sensitivity when this accident happened was commendable.
Noirin Blackie
Haddington
IN her resignation speech Ruth Davidson claimed she was stepping down from her high-profile job mainly to spend more time with her family. She obviously struggled to hold back the tears of joy at the prospect. What I saw was an ambitious politician, the darling
of the right-wing press and the previous Tory Cabinet, almost in tears because she had been unceremoniously dumped by her new boss and his henchmen, who no longer needed her! Her goal of being First Minister of Scotland lay in tatters around her. Aye, as they say a week is a long time in politics.
Maureen Patton
Clydebank
ON Sunday I listened to Mike Russell explaining the history, process and need for a Section 30 order. What was wrong with an agreement 20 years ago does not mean that when the error is visible for all to see, we cannot change it. If a marriage is over, one partner does not need the other’s permission to end it. That is not a union of equals, it’s master and servant. The sovereign right of the Scottish people cannot be swept aside.
Cameron M Fraser
Bannockburn
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