Illustration by David Simonds  MARIE-ANTOINETTE would have been
proud of Europe's farm ministers this 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