I AGREE with Countryfile presenter Tom Heap that schoolchildren should visit abattoirs to gain a fuller understanding of where their food comes from.

Heap has called for greater transparency of food production practices to increase awareness of animal welfare. He even suggests that each stage of food production could be filmed on webcam.

Writing in the Radio Times, he said: “I honestly believe that slaughterhouses, intensive chicken barns or crowded pig pens should be open to the public eye. Schools should be encouraged to visit.”

He adds: “Much of the farming industry is nervous about letting the cameras in. I’m not saying they have something to hide, but they seem to believe the consumer would rather not know. For me, secrecy breeds malpractice inside and, frequently unjustified, suspicion on the outside.”

While not everyone cares about the welfare of the animal that ends up on their plate, many do. For increasing numbers of consumers, food provenance is important.

Today’s restaurants expect diners to take an interest in where the vegetables are grown, the meat is farmed or the fish is caught. Many shoppers are keen to trace the source of food they buy. And farm to fork issues should be part of education too.

Greater transparency of farming processes would allow the public to see how meat is produced, and raise awareness of some methods many would prefer not to think about.

I gave up meat when I was 18 because I was disturbed by the idea of intensive farming. I felt it was an unnatural way to produce meat, and a barbaric way to treat animals. I stopped eating meat overnight, I haven’t eaten it since and, over three decades later, I still feel the same about battery farming. I believe animals should be treated humanely before they are slaughtered.

If people want to eat meat, that’s up to them. But it doesn’t start off neatly wrapped in plastic in the supermarket. It starts as a living, breathing animal, which it’s easy to lose sight of.

Countryfile shouldn’t be afraid to cover the issue. As Tom Heap said: “While taking care not to offend gratuitously, Countryfile - like the countryside - is not a ‘safe space’ and we shouldn’t hide or gloss any uncomfortable truths.”

* WE have so much entertainment at our fingertips now, it’s easy to forget a time when it wasn’t so. ‘On demand’ has radically changed the way we watch television - no longer do we have to wait a week for the next episode of a gripping drama or a must-see sitcom. We can get it straight away, with a flick of the remote. And box set culture has made it perfectly acceptable to sit through even an entire series in one go.

I don’t see the appeal of binge-watching. I recently got into Grey’s Anatomy (I know, I'm 15 series behind) but I only watch one episode at a time, even though the next one is already downloading.

Block viewing is greedy. People are no longer prepared to wait, which is a shame because there’s a pleasure to be had in looking forward to weekly instalments. As a fan of US family drama This is Us, I was thrilled that Season 2 is back on telly. For the next three months, it’s going to be my Wednesday night treat. Bliss.