No Sunflower /Vegetable oil / tomatoes in shops...!!

[earsup]

We have bought 4 bottles a few weeks ago...yesterday and today went to 5 different supermarkets to get bits....and no oils at all...just some expensive Olive oil left on shelves....also no tomatoes for a few days now....!

Listen to @VeganVampire she speaks a lot of truth.

I'm also a farmer. The farming WhatsApp group I'm on for our sector is sharing the Samaritans phone number on a daily basis. With feed costs rocketing some farmers are facing bankruptcy or quitting.

The fertiliser issue is huge. Impact of it won't be felt until harvest 2023 at least.

We are far far far to reliant on other parts of the world for our food. I think this will come home to roost in the next 18months.

Yesterday Waitrose had plenty of tomatoes and other salads. I didn't go past the oils so no idea about that.

The tissue shelf was empty with a sign explaining the shortage.

I will be in Aldi later, it will be interesting to compare.

there shouldnt be free range eggs, they should be labelled as barn eggs as they have been inside for more than 16 weeks

i bought flour in anticipation, but the sunflower oil was out
luckily for us we are not at war

i believe the tomatoes are due to staff sickness, they dont come from ukraine

i agree, we do seem to be far far to reliant on other countries
i guess that is the market

How to induce panic buying - post on MN........

@flowerycurtain

Listen to *@VeganVampire* she speaks a lot of truth.

I'm also a farmer. The farming WhatsApp group I'm on for our sector is sharing the Samaritans phone number on a daily basis. With feed costs rocketing some farmers are facing bankruptcy or quitting.

The fertiliser issue is huge. Impact of it won't be felt until harvest 2023 at least.

We are far far far to reliant on other parts of the world for our food. I think this will come home to roost in the next 18months.

You need to move to Scotland- no poor farmers here!

It's all weland good saying switch to rapeseed oil but rape is an autumn planting so this harvest is already coming into flower. Any increase in rape planted in response to Ukraine won't be harvested until July 2023.

@Itsbackagain

How to induce panic buying - post on MN........

yes, i was going to post about sunflower oil and flour at the weekend as there is an issue in germany - but held off

We have the occasional shortage of one or two things then they come back. One time, it was any type of sweetcorn, tinned or frozen. Another time is was kidney beans. We can afford olive oil, not the EV stuff, but the mixed stuff you fry with. No shortage of oils here, but I suppose there will be soon.You just adapt.

Corner shop had loads when I ran out the other day but couldn't be arsed to trek to Asda.

i do think the uk farmers do need to get planting, even if not available for next year, at least it will be available, but then of course we need to buy it rather than cheaper imports, if available.

It's all well and good saying we will have to buy what's produced in this country but we've had several concert with farmers we work for (contractors) who are basically saying they don't think they can afford to plant crops this year due to the huge increases in cost (and short supply) of fertilisers and the serious hike in diesel prices. No fertiliser means less yield which also impacts on grass so livestock will be affected too. Higher contracting costs basically means it's not economical to plant and harvest - margins in farming are tight at the best of times.Friends of ours who grow salads in huge heated glasshouses have actually cut their intended production by half as they can't afford the gas to heat them - basically have mothballed 3 out of 6 glasshouses for this season 🙁

The farming community is very worried 😧

I’m in a Northern European country. About a month ago sunflower oil was rationed at the tills to one bottle per purchase but now it’s completely finished and you can’t buy it at all. Nor can you you buy similar alternatives. I don’t use it, only olive oil which is still available but it’s affecting businesses who use it. In my experience, life here is roughly 4-6 weeks ahead in “news” to the UK.
Notably though there are no other obvious shortages- no problems with tomatoes for example. I can’t comment on flour as we are GF.

I may be wrong but I think the comment to VeganVampire about choosing a normal diet instead was just a joke because she’s called VeganVampire.

@MrsLargeEmbodied

i do think the uk farmers do need to get planting, even if not available for next year, at least it will be available, but then of course we need to buy it rather than cheaper imports, if available.

I bet they hadn’t thought of that.

it sounds worrying @whojamaflip

People aren't delusional necessarily, just unaware. The average person won't be aware of issues with cabbage beetle. I can see that you're upset and frustrated but your post is really informative and helps people to understand some of the problems happening in food production right now.

I’ve not seen shortages of those items, and threads like this cause panic buying, and cause a problem that wasn’t there.

Sainsburys here had everything, Lidl was a bit sparse but had vegetable oil

I doubt this country could produce enough food to feed the number of people in it, we have to rely on other countries for food imports.

sounds like we need to plant our own produce!

i mean in our gardens of course/window box salads etc,.

Spanish lorry drivers have been on strike which obviously affects some fresh veg in particular.

It's been a bit hit and miss here for a couple of weeks, I have two main supermarkets within walking distance and some things I just haven't been able to buy. Items in short supply that I've noticed are some salad and veg items, particularly tomatoes, oils (you can't buy rapeseed in our area, so people are turning to vegetable and olive if no sunflower), Tescos canned tomatoes, tissues, mayonnaise and the cat food my boys like was low yesterday (had a few times in last two years it hasn't been available though).

I had to substitute something for a planned meal the other day and it didn't quite work and there are going to be more times like this, but if that's the worst of my problems, compared to what the poor people in Ukraine are going through and people here struggling to feed themselves.

With regards to how much oil people use, I'm a mini prepper so tend to one one or a few in hand of things, so I have 1.75 bottles of sunflower oil last sell by date Feb 2022 - I don't need any more as I wouldn't use it in time. I have a friend who frys in water (her food is yummy though) - not quite sure how she does it without burning, but she copes so I need to find out more!!

I read something about there been a lorry drivers strike, I think in Spain, that could be affecting some fresh veg.