It seems every newspaper from Kingston to Khatmandu has regaled its readers this week with the dramatic revelation that Margaret Beckett is a caravanning fanatic. And while, given the wider picture of the new minister's role, that may sound like tabloid trivia, it's good news for the food business. Surely Mrs B should now pack her new green wellies, hitch her family van to the back of the DEFRA limo, and head off around the food chain? For that's the only way she and her food and farming minister, Lord Whitty, will gain a balanced insight into what really makes this sector tick. It will also allow them to put into perspective some of the media and politically inspired jibes which may have left Mrs B and her cohorts suspecting that parts of the chain are populated by a conniving cartel of capitalists who hatch dark plots to rip off humble consumers. Strong words? An over-reaction? I don't think so, given some of the stories peddled across the media in recent times. Trouble is, as we have suggested on many occasions in this column, the great and good of grocery are not always proficient when it comes to projecting the industry's more positive sides. So it was all the more encouraging this week when IGD, while still insisting it's not a lobby organisation ­ despite its string of notable successes in that role ­ invited Lord Whitty, at least, to tread the food chain and see how grocery contributes to the national economy. Nick Brown was never seen as the caring minister until he had made that trek. And there are even Commons Select Committee MPs who have come away from the trip with a clearer understanding of things grocery. But the caravan excursion is all the more important given there's to be an independent commission to advise on creating a sustainable and competitive food and farming sector. The ministers must see the real facts for themselves. It will help them put into perspective the ramblings of the dotty anti-food industry groups who are already threatening to hijack the inquiry. Clive Beddall, Editor {{OPINION }}