Must Britain now Dig for Survival?
Warnings of world food shortages are gathering pace and the horsemeat scandal has highlighted the provenance of food
As a nation that imports 40 per cent of all the food we consume, Britain is in
a precarious position if the supply chain breaks down due to poor harvests,
rising international costs and competition from other countries clamouring
to buy up dwindling stocks.
It was revealed earlier this month that our wet winter and freezing spring
have led to the poorest potato yield (down 20 per cent on last year) since
the drought of 1976. Jersey Royals will be at least a month late because of
tardy planting due to adverse weather, and the price of a 2.5kg bag of white
potatoes has risen by 43 per cent – up from £1.35 this time last year to
£1.93. The carrot harvest has been hit by the waterlogged ground, peas and
tomatoes have been affected by low levels of light, and Britain will also
need to import more wheat than it exports for the first time in a decade.
It’s a bleak picture when the price of the weekly shop is already steadily
rising. All the same, can it really be true, as agriculture minister David
Heath claims, that unless householders start Digging for Victory (Survival,
even), we will face empty shelves as supermarkets struggle to import enough
food to feed us? Alarmingly, it would appear so.
“I am delighted that, at long last, a minister has been upfront about what is
a very serious issue, because we urgently need to get our act together, but
shame on the Government for dragging its feet,” is the vehement response
from Tim Lang, Professor of Food Policy at City University, London.
“The last Labour government, of which I was no fan, belatedly realised the same thing in 2007-08, when food prices rocketed, and they ended up with a policy called Food 2030, published in 2010. But the Coalition came in and abolished it, so we’ve lost three years.”
According to Prof Lang, all assessments of the world’s food systems reach the same damning conclusion, namely that “a big crunch is coming”. Falling oil reserves – needed for fertilisers – climate change and a soaring global population are coming together in a perfect storm.
“The only arguments are over what to do about it,” he says. “Some say that new technology will address the problem, but I’m one of those who say it can’t, because we would need four planet Earths to eat like the Americans and two to three planet Earths for us all to eat like Northern Europeans. What we need to do is radically change our diets.”
At present, 50 per cent of all grain grown in the world is fed to livestock. A dramatic reduction in meat and dairy consumption would free scarce land and resources for plant cultivation.
Consumer concerns over buying genetically modified foods may be swept aside by the need for large-scale production, and indeed this Government plans to lobby other European Union countries to lift current restrictions on the use of GM technology.
But a key factor in securing our food supply lies, quite literally, in growing our own, and public figures are leading by example. When David Cameron was elected Prime Minister, he and his wife took on the vegetable garden planted in Downing Street by former residents Gordon and Sarah Brown. Their green-fingered foray was made with the encouragement of the American First Lady. When she arrived in Washington, one of Michelle Obama’s first projects was to dig a vegetable patch on the White House lawn, so that she could invite local children along to sow and harvest vegetables.
“We are all down in the dirt,” wrote the novice gardener in her book American Grown: The Story of the White House Kitchen Garden and Gardens Across America. “There is no hierarchy, no boss and no winner. It is almost impossible to mess up and we make it clear that gardening isn’t about perfection. It is, however, about re-establishing a seasonality to our diets and would certainly put paid to the environmental scourge of air‑freighted strawberries in December and Peruvian asparagus in March.”
It may come as a shock to learn that a National Farmers’ Union report shows tomatoes, cucumbers and spring onions are among several British fruit and vegetable crops that have been labelled “endangered” due to a significant fall in national self-sufficiency over the past 10 years. A further four crops – Brussels sprouts, lettuce, leeks and cauliflower – are “at risk” due to a steady shrinkage in production and consumption.
“This is not about growers versus retailers, but we have to bring an end to damaging activities or risk losing huge swathes of British horticultural production,” says NFU deputy president and potato grower Meurig Raymond. “Some retailers are making efforts to invest in the future of British farming, but our figures show that all too often this is being undone in pursuit of higher profits.
“Unless action is taken now, we could see less home-grown fruit and vegetables on supermarket shelves. This will mean more imported produce, less choice and ultimately higher food prices due to a lack of investment in farming.”
Elsewhere, the Royal Horticultural Society’s Britain in Bloom movement has just launched “Edible Britain”, which promotes the idea of growing herbs, salads and fruits in outdoor spaces: chives in window boxes, lettuce in tubs and strawberries and tomatoes in hanging baskets.
Throughout this month Britain in Bloom will be giving away 30,000 packets of seeds to create more than 1,000 public edible gardens nationwide. The scheme, which has been given the backing of Michelin-starred chef Raymond Blanc, is part of a drive to get people in general and children in particular to re-engage with fresh food. And according to research carried out by Homebase, 62 per cent of British children want to be taught more about gardening at school.
“It’s really important to get children involved in gardening and learn that fruit and vegetables don’t come wrapped in polythene,” says Andrea Van Sittart, head of regional development at the RHS. “And 17,000 schools signed up to our gardening in schools programme.”
When you grow something, you gain a different perspective on its value. In recent years the National Trust, once associated with the preservation in aspic of stately piles and ornamental gardens, has diversified into the cultivation of our horticultural heritage by creating 1,000 allotments, where communities can grow fruit and vegetables. The economic downturn has made a considerable impact, according to the National Allotment Society, with 150,000 people on waiting lists for council allotments and waiting times in London as long as 40 years. Figures released last December showed that the share of all fruit and veg grown in allotments and gardens rose from 2.9 per cent to 5 per cent between 2008 and 2011, an increase of 70 per cent.
But with the best will and the best weather in the world, it’s simply not possible for the average family to become self-sufficient in fruit and vegetables. Alex Mitchell, author of Edible Gardener, admits that the Surbiton idyll of pigs and chickens and home-brewed wine portrayed by Richard Briers and Felicity Kendall is far from the reach of most people.
“You can’t really grow all your own food unless you have about half an acre or more,” says Mitchell. “But you can cultivate little bits and pieces that make you feel more connected to the seasons and raise your awareness of the natural world around you. That, in turn, will make you think before you buy fruit that’s been flown half-way round the world and might change your shopping habits to support local growers more.”
But she does believe it’s possible to become self-sufficient in herbs, salad, garlic and even chillies. “Growing your own food is wonderfully life-affirming,” she says. “It also makes you feel as though you’ve won back a little control from the big supermarkets, and it’s resourceful.”
The horsemeat furore has heightened interest in the provenance of our food; buying traceable British produce allays concerns and dovetails with the calls to reduce our dependence on imports.
Turning the herbaceous border over to rhubarb and spring onions may not constitute digging for victory per se. But perhaps sowing and growing my children’s supper (with plum crumble for afters) could constitute an important milestone along the way.
“The last Labour government, of which I was no fan, belatedly realised the same thing in 2007-08, when food prices rocketed, and they ended up with a policy called Food 2030, published in 2010. But the Coalition came in and abolished it, so we’ve lost three years.”
According to Prof Lang, all assessments of the world’s food systems reach the same damning conclusion, namely that “a big crunch is coming”. Falling oil reserves – needed for fertilisers – climate change and a soaring global population are coming together in a perfect storm.
“The only arguments are over what to do about it,” he says. “Some say that new technology will address the problem, but I’m one of those who say it can’t, because we would need four planet Earths to eat like the Americans and two to three planet Earths for us all to eat like Northern Europeans. What we need to do is radically change our diets.”
At present, 50 per cent of all grain grown in the world is fed to livestock. A dramatic reduction in meat and dairy consumption would free scarce land and resources for plant cultivation.
Consumer concerns over buying genetically modified foods may be swept aside by the need for large-scale production, and indeed this Government plans to lobby other European Union countries to lift current restrictions on the use of GM technology.
But a key factor in securing our food supply lies, quite literally, in growing our own, and public figures are leading by example. When David Cameron was elected Prime Minister, he and his wife took on the vegetable garden planted in Downing Street by former residents Gordon and Sarah Brown. Their green-fingered foray was made with the encouragement of the American First Lady. When she arrived in Washington, one of Michelle Obama’s first projects was to dig a vegetable patch on the White House lawn, so that she could invite local children along to sow and harvest vegetables.
“We are all down in the dirt,” wrote the novice gardener in her book American Grown: The Story of the White House Kitchen Garden and Gardens Across America. “There is no hierarchy, no boss and no winner. It is almost impossible to mess up and we make it clear that gardening isn’t about perfection. It is, however, about re-establishing a seasonality to our diets and would certainly put paid to the environmental scourge of air‑freighted strawberries in December and Peruvian asparagus in March.”
It may come as a shock to learn that a National Farmers’ Union report shows tomatoes, cucumbers and spring onions are among several British fruit and vegetable crops that have been labelled “endangered” due to a significant fall in national self-sufficiency over the past 10 years. A further four crops – Brussels sprouts, lettuce, leeks and cauliflower – are “at risk” due to a steady shrinkage in production and consumption.
“This is not about growers versus retailers, but we have to bring an end to damaging activities or risk losing huge swathes of British horticultural production,” says NFU deputy president and potato grower Meurig Raymond. “Some retailers are making efforts to invest in the future of British farming, but our figures show that all too often this is being undone in pursuit of higher profits.
“Unless action is taken now, we could see less home-grown fruit and vegetables on supermarket shelves. This will mean more imported produce, less choice and ultimately higher food prices due to a lack of investment in farming.”
Elsewhere, the Royal Horticultural Society’s Britain in Bloom movement has just launched “Edible Britain”, which promotes the idea of growing herbs, salads and fruits in outdoor spaces: chives in window boxes, lettuce in tubs and strawberries and tomatoes in hanging baskets.
Throughout this month Britain in Bloom will be giving away 30,000 packets of seeds to create more than 1,000 public edible gardens nationwide. The scheme, which has been given the backing of Michelin-starred chef Raymond Blanc, is part of a drive to get people in general and children in particular to re-engage with fresh food. And according to research carried out by Homebase, 62 per cent of British children want to be taught more about gardening at school.
“It’s really important to get children involved in gardening and learn that fruit and vegetables don’t come wrapped in polythene,” says Andrea Van Sittart, head of regional development at the RHS. “And 17,000 schools signed up to our gardening in schools programme.”
When you grow something, you gain a different perspective on its value. In recent years the National Trust, once associated with the preservation in aspic of stately piles and ornamental gardens, has diversified into the cultivation of our horticultural heritage by creating 1,000 allotments, where communities can grow fruit and vegetables. The economic downturn has made a considerable impact, according to the National Allotment Society, with 150,000 people on waiting lists for council allotments and waiting times in London as long as 40 years. Figures released last December showed that the share of all fruit and veg grown in allotments and gardens rose from 2.9 per cent to 5 per cent between 2008 and 2011, an increase of 70 per cent.
But with the best will and the best weather in the world, it’s simply not possible for the average family to become self-sufficient in fruit and vegetables. Alex Mitchell, author of Edible Gardener, admits that the Surbiton idyll of pigs and chickens and home-brewed wine portrayed by Richard Briers and Felicity Kendall is far from the reach of most people.
“You can’t really grow all your own food unless you have about half an acre or more,” says Mitchell. “But you can cultivate little bits and pieces that make you feel more connected to the seasons and raise your awareness of the natural world around you. That, in turn, will make you think before you buy fruit that’s been flown half-way round the world and might change your shopping habits to support local growers more.”
But she does believe it’s possible to become self-sufficient in herbs, salad, garlic and even chillies. “Growing your own food is wonderfully life-affirming,” she says. “It also makes you feel as though you’ve won back a little control from the big supermarkets, and it’s resourceful.”
The horsemeat furore has heightened interest in the provenance of our food; buying traceable British produce allays concerns and dovetails with the calls to reduce our dependence on imports.
Turning the herbaceous border over to rhubarb and spring onions may not constitute digging for victory per se. But perhaps sowing and growing my children’s supper (with plum crumble for afters) could constitute an important milestone along the way.
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Set aside farming land taken out of food production, the building of 100s of 1000s of new homes on Farmland/countryside, massive immigration problems not to mention the disappearance of BEES doesn't bode well for a country who has to import over 40% of its food.
If you have a Garden it wouldn't be such a bad idea to start growing your own food as prices will start to escalate rapidly over the next 6 mths.
I'm sure you all know how little your getting for your money when you go to the supermarkets compared to 2 yrs ago.
And what will the LibLabCon do about this?
NOWT, ZILCH, NADA as per usual.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/gardening/howtogrow/9997719/Must-Britain-now-Dig-for-Survival.html
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