Shortage of tomatoes in the middle of February

[Stillcountingbeans]

Oh how my great-grandmother would have laughed!

www.theguardian.com/business/2023/feb/21/asda-morrisons-ration-tomatoes-peppers-fruit-shortages

@LuluBlakey1

This kind of attitude doesn't help.

If you think the U.K. is so shit, feel free to go elsewhere.

Why haven't we had this before then?

lol no it isn’t, demand is there so products will come as long as UK can pay for it

Don’t understand why people wish their kids to live in a world with lower living standards

You don't remember the great courgette shortage of early 2017?
www.foodmanufacture.co.uk/Article/2017/01/17/Twitter-storm-caused-by-courgette-shortage#:~:text=Reports%20of%20a%20shortage%20of,fruit%20and%20vegetables%20are%20grown.

Apparently there’s been a potato shortage where my parents are which is o/s

Extreme weather too. I’m guessing we’ll see it more

One thing we could do is get food waste down

We have, there have been years where potatoes have been in short supply due to night, other years where other crops have failed, this isn't uncommon

I don't remember there ever being this emptiness in the fruit and veg section.

The farmers at NFU23 were saying they told the government tomato and cucumber shortages would happen now back in November last year.

The loss of EU farming payments plus the higher energy costs plus not being able to get workers in to pick fruit and veg were all mentioned.

I did a search and found this:

eastangliabylines.co.uk/death-of-greenhouse-industry/?fbclid=IwAR181_09o4IpOyrTMtaFnfhauijpz8uIwcazfk68PJVCQ4U3APgIPOYqASE

Would you be able to tell us the title and author? Sounds really interesting...

At least part of the solution to staff shortages is surely better pay? And in turn supermarkets and ultimately us paying a fair price for fresh food?

I don’t want to spend winter eating turnips and carrots thanks. We’ve had Nigel Slater and Jamie Oliver to show us how to enjoy food. We all want that now not subsistence.

We can’t even produce enough of anything in the country to sustain the population so just switching to another veg won’t help anyway.

Back in the 1980’s we didn’t have endless salad choices. And the U.K. population was 56 million.
Now the population is 10 million more and we expect so much variety. It’s going to make a difference.

I would if I could.

@LuluBlakey1

where would you choose to go?

I lived in Valencia a few years ago, a guy on the radio was going on about the beautiful weather there, took me right back, not a bad option... if only they'd have me 😂

There are a lot of countries that have bigger populations than ours @Arrrrrrragghhh

And you can't get more 1980s salad than cucumber and tomato

Why do we in Britain have to "go back to eating seasonally"?

Because it tastes so much better, because it's so much better for the environment and because it's much ch cheaper

@Makemetry Nigel does turnips , so does Jamie

I understand that you want the same vegetables and fruit 52 weeks a year because it makes life easier, but it is not particularly sustainable.

Not for every meal for 3 months they don’t! They’re all about eating the food you enjoy and making the most of every meal. We’ve all read the books. We want the lifestyle.

You don't remember the great courgette shortage of early 2017?

Not just courgettes -

Jan/Feb 2017
Losing the plot: courgette crisis spreads to other vegetables

www.theguardian.com/business/2017/jan/20/losing-the-plot-courgette-crisis-spreads-to-other-vegetables

www.express.co.uk/news/uk/762616/vegetable-shortage-crisis-fruit-lettuce-courgette-why-explained

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4206296/Minister-insists-no-lettuce-crisis.html

www.thesun.co.uk/news/2774614/vegetable-shortage-2017-supermarkets-rationing-broccoli-lettuce-crisis/

verdantverdure
There are a lot of countries that have bigger populations than ours

Top 10 European Countries By Fruit And Vegetable Consumption

3. United Kingdom
The United Kingdom ranks third in terms of fruit and vegetable consumption by country, and boasts the highest percentage of individuals that consume five or more portions per day – approximately a third of the population (32.9%). Overall, 78.3% of the population consume at least one portion, with 45.4% saying that they consume between one and four portions.

www.esmmagazine.com/fresh-produce/top-10-european-countries-by-fruit-and-vegetable-consumption-233253

Only Germany I think in the EU. The rest have smaller populations with larger countries to grow their food in.
And yes tomatoes and cucumbers are very English but that’s pretty mall we had to worry about growing and importing . They were had to get in winter and pretty expensive. I remember the price of tomatoes getting relatively cheaper . Actually all veg. I remember only having 16p at Uni in 91 and I could buy one sardine or a jacket potato. I can four jackets for less than 50p these days.

@Makemetry 69 winter vegetable recipes by Nigel
Jamie's month by month guide to seasonable vegetables.

You seem to want the faux Mediterranean lifestyle
I want a walled garden and freshly harvested vegetables handed over by the gardener.

I grew up in the 70s and 80s we ate seasonally, never ate tomatoes cucumbers or lettuce in the winter.

I have the gardener (my DH) but I so want a walled garden