Let them eat cake

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: Marie-Antoinette would have been proud of Europe’s farm ministers last week, as they debated what to do about the high price of food. True, ministers did not quite sigh “qu’ils mangent de la brioche” as they discussed the hungry (as tradition alleges the French queen did when told that the poor of Paris had no bread). But that, in essence, was the message from the French, Germans, Spanish and Austrians, as they leapt to defend the common agricultural policy (CAP), which helps Europe to produce some of the priciest food in the world.

At least Marie-Antoinette had the excuse of a sheltered upbringing. It is harder to explain the conduct of some European Union governments. On the one hand, their leaders claim to be deeply concerned about the impact of food prices on the “vulnerable” at home and abroad (to quote the sonorous conclusions of an EU-Latin America summit on May 16th). Yet in Brussels three days later several farm ministers called for the retention of policies that make food in Europe expensive.

Michel Barnier, the French minister, declared that the food crisis was an excellent reason to “preserve” Europe’s capacity to grow food. But not any old food. “I don’t believe in industrial farms,” explains Mr Barnier, whose country remains by far the largest CAP beneficiary, coining euro 9 billion ($12 billion) in 2007 (though its share is dropping fast, with the arrival of poorer farmers in the east). He declares that consumers want farms in every corner of the land, no matter how remote, and “a varied diet with lots of local produce, full of colour and taste.”

Several governments appear to agree. For example, most farm ministers want to keep a ban on imports of American poultry washed in chlorine, to remove bugs picked up during intensive rearing. (The Americans can do what they want, Mr Barnier sniffed: “Europeans have different standards.”) Ministers discussed, but failed to agree on, a move to ban whole classes of pesticides, amid pleas from Britain that this would cut wheat yields by 20-30%. And several countries expressed disquiet about the liberalising elements of a “health check” for the CAP that was proposed last week by the European Commission.