I am so fed up of a lack of food in shops.

[OutofEverything]

This has been going on for a few years but is only getting worse. I had to go to 3 supermarkets before I found some eggs. No lettuce at all, a few packs of salad tomatoes available in one supermarket, loads of empty spaces in the fruit and veg section, and in ASDA even the freezers had loads of empty spaces.

Before anyone says yes I know we will not starve, there is enough actual food. But a visit to a supermarket now is a lottery about what will be available and what is missing. And more and more I am having to visit multiple shops to get absolute basics.

I think you are spoilt expecting lettuce in feb ( you could buy seeds and grow indoors), luckily I’ve been getting eggs ( from butchers if needed, tho more expensive) and tomatoes in my local Lidl.
otherwise expect green, and root veg.
blame brexit , and fuel crisis if you wish

Brexit, apparently they knew what they were voting for that and less immigrants.Well here it is Project Here. An apology would be nice

These sorts of posts are becoming so tedious and childish. I disagreed with Brexit but honestly, life goes on. Countries within the EU are experiencing all sorts of problems at the moment, too. And Brexit notwithstanding I'm traveling to Europe very regularly and working with European clients without any issues. The way forward for everyone is to have a positive mindset and forge a new relationship with the EU.

The endless dreary 'Brexit' refrain is just pointless.

www.theguardian.com/business/2023/feb/23/we-have-to-pay-more-for-food-britains-biggest-tomato-farmer-on-the-runaway-costs-of-growing

I agree that eating seasonally makes sense but the UK has to rely on import, there is no way the UK could feed it's own people without it. They import somewhere around 45% of the food they consumes. I don't think people will be OK halfing their consumption and there isn't enough arable land left to produce much more.

who profits from paying £1 for a punnet of cherry tomatoes?

I am quite happy about it as it might serve to remind people to eat seasonal food and that we have to pay more. We are at the bottom of the EU supply chain because the supermarkets have been bullish about paying farmers all over the world as little as they can. So when there's a shortage the UK supermarkets will be at the bottom of the pile.

I like salad but I've just been adding whatever veg is available to soups stews and all different meals.

Also saw someone with three cauliflowers yesterday- who usually buys three cauliflowers??!

Yes of course it can, if politicians put even half the effort into getting back in as they are putting into pretending everything’s fine we’d be back in the single market at least in no time. The government are bragging about how they are going to revoke all remaining EU law by the end of the year to mark the anniversary of “getting Brexit done”. They are fully out of their god damn minds, they need to be stopped.

This has a lot to do with supermarkets. They are very rigid on prices they will pay to suppliers as they insist on having cheap food. As soon as prices go up they don't want to know

Serves us all right for not using independents and local shops.

Yes they do need to import but they need to pay more for it.

Uk supermarkets are absolute cocky bastards and will pay almost nothing with the threat of withdrawing contracts.

Try living in NZ. Much of our food goes abroad and we pay a fortune for what is available here, even though we produce it!!!

@Snoken

I was talking with a speaker at work recently, on sustainable living, and they said that the developed world wastes so much food, scraps so much deemed not pretty enough to sell and even slaughter and dump animals due to "overstock" instead of processing the meat. He said that almost all first world nations definitely can live very well on their own produce, we have just been conditioned to want our food at upper class standards on peasant prices and not to look at what the world governments are doing with our resources.

Yes, agree about the supermarkets. It should be quite telling now which supermarkets have the worse conditions with supplier as they will be the emptiest. I suspect Waitrose for example pay more for their products and will therefor be better stocked, but I have no idea. I no longer live in the UK so I haven't seen it for myself.

That's encouraging to hear.

Tomatoes peppers and cucumbers don’t grow in the UK in this season. It is good for the environment to eat locally grown seasonal food. We ought to be adjusting our eating habits to reduce carbon emissions anyway.

i don’t welcome this but it’s not a reason to panic. Not having tomatoes in February!

@magicthree I know. My parents live in NZ, it's insane how much some things cost there. Including clothes and shoes! They always stock up when they visit!

@NoFux In an environmental sense I do agree. However, the issue is that in this county is that we are being lied to and manipulated in to accepting that we should expect and accept lower living standards 'just because x excuse' by a government that has been dishonest and even corrupt. Every day things just get worse and we accept it. Do you think the French would have accepted the massive energy price hikes that have forced people into poverty here? The French people protested against their retirement age rising from 62 to 64, here not a peep about anything.

It’s not pointless, people need to get angrier about it if they plan to stay in the UK long term, they need to demand change now, not wait until the next election. I appreciate you’re finding it all very dreary, but it’s not just a problem that the situation is bad, it’s a problem that it’s going to get worse and worse. You might be fine but millions will suffer even more.
Maybe you’re right that a positive mindset would make it all much better, but being blunt- that’s not really the UK’s strong suit. Denial seems to be though.
Contact your MP, tell them Brexit is a disaster, there’s only so long they can ignore it

But why are EU supermarkets still full of bounty then?

I find the reluctance to admit this is a Brexit issue really weird. There is clearly a UK only problem, it is new, what could be causing it? Ah yes world population and Spanish hailstones.

Tomatoes peppers and cucumbers don’t grow in the UK in this season.

Actually they do, in heated polytunnels, but the cost of heating them has soared and the supermarkets refused to pay higher prices for UK salad crops.

Poor you. Our supermarkets are bursting with every exotic fruit and vegetable from the world over.

It’s been pancake day and every year eggs run out. Seriously I can’t get over this melodrama.

Entitled, bloated and endless whining on here, it’s embarrassing to read.

Because your supermarkets pay a fair wage and they are happy to cover the cost of extra heating in polytunnels if that particular country should need it.

I am in the EU right now, there are loads of things that are missing in the supermarkets, they have nothing like the quality or variety we have, but don’t let the actual truth stand in your way.

I have an Aldi and Lidl within walking distance they are always full of fresh produce at 8 am on my way home from my morning walk. Not sure about later in the day though.

Do you think the French would have accepted the massive energy price hikes that have forced people into poverty here?

They had the foresight to build their nuclear energy programme in the 70s so ofc they aren’t as affected by global energy markets

I stood in a dark airport yesterday in the EU because they can’t afford to keep it lit, but you just keep going.