Letter: Food sense

"It makes perfect economic sense," say Michael Prest and David Bowen to "bring tiny vegetables over 5,000 miles to market" ("Vegetable magic", Business, 7 July).

It doesn't make economic sense to kill off home markets for vegetables. It doesn't make environmental sense to transport goods half-way round the world. Transport is the fastest growing source of carbon-dioxide emissions linked with global climate change. It doesn't make moral sense to exploit cheap Third World labour and no doubt expose workers to pesticides that have been banned elsewhere in order to grow a uniform "perfect" crop.

How can the British get so worked up about supporting our sports teams yet do so little to bolster our economy? It is time for the public to return to shopping at local independent greengrocers who are likely to offer an outlet to regional growers. Don't let the retail giants bankrupt our market gardeners with over-packaged, over-priced, tasteless foreign veg.

Jean Saunders

Faringdon, Oxfordshire