Lie of the Land

C4, Thurs 3rd May, 21.00 - 22.30
1.5 Million, 6.8% Audience Share

Radio Times:

Molly Dineen's sad, passionate film feels like an elegy for a way of life that's dying.

Demands for cheap food and cheaper imports have all but destroyed British meat production, leaving farmers struggling to survive. Our way into the story is through Ian and his "flesh runs" through rural Cornwall collecting animal carcasses. Since BSE, the disposing of dead animals has become so costly and complicated that farmers give them to local hunts for the dogs. But there's another aspect to these grim little journeys. Ian routinely kills perfectly healthy calves that farmers cannot afford to keep. Dineen's camera, rightly, doesn't spare any of the details.

The Lie of the Land is filled with people raging against the mighty supermarkets and a Government they feel doesn't care about food production. In the Cotswolds, farmer Glynn takes Dineen on a dismal tour of farms that have been forced out of business. It's a sobering trip, which might make you look more closely at that "country of origin" label on your next Cellophane-wrapped package of supermarket meat.