A truly great post Tracey! I wouldn't have been able to put it across as well as you have, but you have it in a nutshell.
I would also add that it is an expensive hobby and as you say, losses over 5 years (or even more!) can be enormous!
As for breeders not wanting to get involved in discussions, I do know that that is partly down to the witch hunts and lynchings that go on constantly over HCM and breeders are sick to the back teeth of it. In ALL kinds of breeding, there will be good breeders and not-so-good breeders, whether HCM existed or not. That is life. As harsh as it may sound, it is up to the prospective pet buyer to do their research into finding a breeder that they are happy with. If you were buying a car you would go to a dealer with a good reputation and you would do research to find that 'good' dealer. It is the same when researching to buy an animal......you MUST read up and find the right breeder.
When posting things on our websites....we have already been accused of using screening as a 'marketing tool' by MANY people, so we are damned if we do and damned if we don't. For me, I am PROUD to put on my website that I screen, and if people think that is a marketing tool, well let them think it! Websites are marketing tools, adverts are marketing tools......screening would be one hell of an expensive marketing tool I think? You also need to consider that lots of breeders had their programmes set up before HCM was ever mentioned, and have had those cats to feed and care for throughout the recession, where sometimes kitten sales have been few and far between, not even enough to cover the food bills. It is no good screening one week then not being able to afford the vet or buy food the next week.
At the end of the day, there will always be arguments about HCM as no-one will agree all the time, but I think encouraging breeders to get involved in conversations and doing more screening is likely to have more effect than lambasting them, attacking them and so alienating them?
For me, the carrot works better than the stick every time!