To think Britain should start growing it’s own food again?

[Vocaladvocaat]

The situation in the Ukraine clearly isn’t going to resolve any time soon. The lack of grain from Ukraine is pushing prices higher. Add in further political instability in other parts of the world to the mix. We are always told that IK farming isn’t competitive but with the rising prices, it can be and furthermore; having home grown produce is seeming like it will be more necessary in the future. AIBU?

Not one of the problems mentioned is insurmountable. As others have mentioned , we can and do grow wheat already. The knock on effect is also on the alcohol trade with hops and barley. I do grow peppers- grow with wild abandon, trying to take over! Tomatoes- love them, disappointing yield, eucalyptus (growing well), potatoes and squash(growing well). Vegetable gardens are a great idea and I know a few people who need to buy very few veg in summer although they have limited choice. There are also lots of micro farmers selling locally. Something that became popular during Covid.

The one thing we know is that we don’t know what might happen but we do need to plan for the unexpected. Isn’t this the Brexit dream? Britain self sufficient and made great again?

Oh who should we vote for ?

No they don't. Stop spreading false information 😒

The massive push for rewilding in this country won't help with 'Britain growing its own food again' also I believe under the Labour Party more compulsory purchase orders will be made on agricultural land meaning more houses and less food production.

Theresa Coffey would do well having a good long chat with Jeremy Clarkson imho.

Eucalyptus??

We need to stop building on farm land and those silly payment to rewild farms. Pay them to bloody grow crops.

Houses that are built and even flats etc should all have allotment space allocated within its footprint. Yes it’s small fry but each house growing a little something is great. We have an orchard and greenhouse at home and grow quite a few things. Cucumbers were at home disappointing this year but that’s the way it goes. Grapes did amazing this year some how and weirdly some of my strawberries are in flower again.

Yes. We are an island. I have always thought we should be more self sufficient, not with just food, but manufacturing too as there is no definite guarantee of overseas goods/produce being delivered. Wars, volcanos, viruses, any number of things can interrupt the flow of trade.

With uncertainty over long-term fuel resources it might not be possible or cost effective to fly a tomato from Argentina, or a mug from China in 20 years.

Some import/export is always good of course, but we should be able to feed ourselves, even if just a basic diet.

But don't get me started on how many coffee shops/food outlets there are in a typical high street and do we really need access to so much "empty" food (brownies, cookies, cake etc) 24/7. That's a thread in itself!!

Find a better butcher. Everything ours sells comes from a 20 mile radius and we're in the Home Counties

I just watched Molly Dineens documentary from 2007 Lie of the land, its on bfiplayer and it explains how awful farming was or is in the UK. I really want a follow up. Has anyone else seen it ?

Then you've been had. Or it's just what you wish were true so you don't sound like a heel for voting Tory.

We could if everyone was happy to pay a fair price for fresh food, yes. The price of some veg and meat especially is so low you know no one is getting paid a fair wage in the supply chain, we have happily exploited cheap labour for many years but it's not in abundant supply anymore so wages for workers would have to be competitive to fill the gaps.

The UK hasn't been self sufficient in food since forever and it would take massive investment to come anywhere close. As for putting more land under the plough - its already at max in the UK. We've fucked the arable land so that it's sterile now and can't sustainably grow anything without a massive chemical input. Farmers are killing off pollinators (those things that ensure we have nice things to eat like strawberries) by overuse of pesticides etc. Modern farming methods are OK if all you want to do is grow grain, but seriously fucked up if you want insects, birds and other plants to grow.

We do have a massive green house at Thanet Earth. The produce tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers in the millions. I am sure we could see more of this.
But my understanding is it uses a lot of electricity and water to keep it running. I cant remember if they are sustainable with this yet. Probably.

I agree that Jeremy Clarksons farm was very interesting, despite him. Particularly his bit about how long the soil has left and what we need to do. But the financials of it are bonkers.

Agree 💯

https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/politics/2023/oct/08/labour-keir-starmer-new-homes-target-green-belt

https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/news.sky.com/story/amp/labour-will-build-on-green-belt-to-boost-housing-starmer-says-12882668

https://www.fwi.co.uk/business/labours-compulsory-land-purchase-wont-solve-housing-issue

https://www.theconstructionindex.co.uk/news/view/from-much-needed-to-pure-fantasy-reactions-to-labours-building-plan

I'm not a Tory by the way. I think all of the political parties are equally bad for different reasons.

"But we currently grow half our food, and could easily, very easily provide all of it."

This is nonsense. The UK has not been able to grow sufficient crops to feed the population for around the last 200 years. Also, crops are not just grown for human consumption - animal livestock and poultry such as cattle, sheep, pigs, chickens etc. also eat crops.

The last time that the country was forced into trying to feed itself was during World War 2, when every available plot of land, including public parks, was utilised. There was still nowhere near enough food available to feed the population, but as imports were extremely difficult to organise, the result was rationing, which continued until 1954 - 9 years after the end of the war.

This is the weekly adult ration from WW2:

😳

What a load of shit. Literally hundreds of acres of farmland around here (Tory MP, Tory council) has been lost to new housing estates (thousands of houses) over the last 5 years with loads more approved. It’s a Tory lie.

There'd be milk as well but yeah not much food during rations really- might do the country some good though to help sort the escalating obesity problem.

Rationing was also helped by the expectation for all houses to have enough space to grow their own supplementary veg and/or keep chickens. My Gran did both as a matter of everyday practicality.

I'd say we need to do the same again, but suspect most people would just turn them into sterile 'outdoor rooms' so not only would the space be a waste, it'd deplete the habitat for nature. So maybe not

We can definitely grow wheat in this country.

A friend of ours has an arable farm. He makes a lot of money growing wheat and other cereals. He also grows rape, linseed and sunflowers.

Organic farms can yield just as good results as non organic.

We already grow a lot of our own food.
But climate change and post-Brexit loss of subsidies is making it much harder.
The maize crop around me (grown for animal fodder) was harvested last week but had to all be sent to an energy plant as the weather had made it too damp to be stored as feed.
I buy UK grown veg - seasonally - also milk products, cheese and meat. Always.
But there are some staples I rely on that will never be grown in the UK. Rice. Pasta. Coffee. Tea. Spices. Some legumes. We don't eat bananas, mangos or pineapples - but try telling others they should give them up.
It is very hard to grow wheat that is good enough quality for bread, there isn't much land in the Uk which can do that. Even the wheat grown near me is destined as animal food.
It make sense to grow what we are good at trade with other countries that produce what they are good at.

The UK is largely self-sufficient in production of grains, producing over 100% of domestic consumption of oats and barley and over 90% of wheat.
Statistics published by government this month.

We should be growing more, eating more veg and less but better quality meat and Dairy. Using more of the animal and importing foods that won’t grow or are not energy efficient to grow here. And yes it needs to be organic style growing that restores soils and supports pollinators. Otherwise it won’t work. We are reliant on pollinators for over 70% of our food crops and poor soil will result eventually in crop failure.