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 we should probably all go and buy some pots, seeds and compost! Lettuce is easy to grow on a window box.

You'd be a fool not to think this.

Interesting how pre-Brexit we didn't encounter food shortages, isn't it?

I suppose you are not familiar with autism and sensory processing disorder then. I cant educate you but you could say its not just a need but also a medical need, autistic children with spd rather starve than eat anything that they cant tolerate.

You can grow lettuce most of the year, we grow all out tomatoes, cucumbers and lettuce during the season.

And far fetched. Still anyone else would put a note on the local Facebook page and wait to be inundated with cucumbers!

We have turned into a nation of entitled, selfish navel gazing, helpless ‘victims’ broken by the sight of an empty tomato box. God help us if WW3 really does break out, clearly some people in this country wouldn’t even last a week! I sincerely hope no one in Ukraine is reading this thread.

^That about sums it up.

Tomatoes at this time of year are crap anyway, - chewy & tasteless. I stopped buying them ages ago.

Errr we didn’t have covid or a war in Europe then duh.

Yes, people speak as though having food produced for them is a right. It really isn’t. These shortages are just the start unless action is taken. A good first step would be to get rid of this government and replace it with a more benign one that does not actively harm its citizens.

If I am a grower of courgette in southern Spain and due to a blip in the weather in Mercia I have only managed to grow 200 tons instead of 500.

I now have a choice, I can ship the short distance to Spain, Portugal and France and charge 100 euro a ton or ship 1500 miles to the UK and supply to Tesco, Morrisons @ 75 euro per ton.

Which option would you take?

Brexit does not alter geography.

My parents are in Ukraine, send me photos yesterday shelves full of food- do you actually understand the war and supply issues are in the east, in the west shops,nightclubs,restaurants,businesses operate as usual. No rationing food or lack of food either like in the UK.

So complaining about food shortages, which don't exist in any comparable country, is a leftie campaign?

Is one allowed to complain about anything, or would that be playing into the hands of the awful lefties?

We need to be paying higher prices but people don't want to do that, they are moaning if they have to pay more for their veg

You are spoiling it now. They want everything to be about brexit and the government.

How dare you come on, as a grower and an expert in Spain and tell the actual truth.

Yes, I am familiar. And they are not how the majority of the population eat, so not hugely relevant to this thread, although to get yourself into a situation where three cucumbers a day isn't enough for 5 children (only 2 of whom have processing needs?) seems very unusual.

I agree that the UK is cheaper but I don't agree that the UK has more choices. I lived in the UK for 15 years but grew up in Sweden and now live there again. The choices are about the same, but sometimes there is more choice for certain things in the different places. For example there are more choices for crisps, cereal and soft drinks in the UK but much more variety in crisp bread, flour and grains here.

It’s not just the odd complaint though is it. It is a coordinated effort to constantly undermine the country.

It is very scary and I don’t think there will be a magic fix. The devloping countries are also getting richer and importing more foods that they traditionally never had eg China imports lots more dairy and chocolate for example. That then puts a strain on the supply chain and suddenly there is not enough to go around. Couple that with the fact that we are no longer in the EU so we are last in the list a why would Spanish farmers sell thier tomatoes to the U.K. with all its customs and transport headaches when they can sell it to other EU countries. The U.K. farmers who would grow out of season items in heated warehouses and farmhouses no can’t afford the high energy bills so have switched off and our homegrown supply is decimated. Throw in some wars eg Ukraine which was a huge exporter of some food stuffs, the lingering effects of covid and natural issues like crop diseases etc and it’s a perfect storm.

i think everybody needs to think like post war and maybe start growing some of thier own fruit and veg where possible, eat seasonally and probably a little less!

So Kier Starmer could control the weather in Spain and North Africa - wow !😂

Thank you - this is what I've been saying but very few want to admit that their beloved cheap supermarkets might be to blame.

5 children, 2 eat a oot of cucumber with 3x a day,other 2 somewhat enjoy cucumber too- you have 3 cucumbers. Do the maths, if you are able.

I cant believe you are even serious about posting children eating “too much cucumber”.

Evergreenlevelbest1
Where in the EU are you? Ireland is right beside the UK and isn’t experiencing shortages

Shortages in Ireland reported 2 days ago:

www.irishtimes.com/food/2023/02/21/supply-of-vegetables-to-ireland-disrupted-by-poor-weather-and-energy-costs/

www.breakingnews.ie/business/fruit-and-vegetable-shortage-due-to-poor-weather-in-spain-irish-retailers-say-1436373.html

DiDonk
DS is in Netherlands - bountiful as ever

This supermarket in the Netherlands is explaining shortages of bell peppers, cauliflower, broccoli and iceberg lettuce (16 Feb 2023);

www.freshplaza.com/europe/article/9503487/no-end-to-cauliflower-shortage-in-sight-yet/

I agree. It’s personal and cultural taste. Sweden and U.K. have similar variety but if you go to a Greek, Spanish or French supermarket you won’t find ten different varieties of mushrooms, whole sections of different types of lettuce! In most places the offering is actually quite basic compared to the U.K.

It’s the mindset of the moaners that really gets to me and the total absence of awareness of just how fortunate they/we are.

If the amount of cucumber your children need on a daily basis means that a parent is desperately driving around trying to get past the three cucumber ration then yes, you are eating too much cucumber.

Brexit - everything in abundance in Europe.

I'm in London and haven't noticed any shortages at all, is it regional? I have three fruit and veg shops and three supermarkets within walking distance and they all have a full range.