One thing we have learnt this week – greens shortage

DSC_2305The UK is suffering a greens shortage.  This has been so far a bit of a middle class crisis and no more.  First the news was full of a shortage of courgettes (zucchini) but since has expanded to lettuce.  The reasons for this are simple.  Most of the UK’s winter veg comes from southern Spain.  There have been years of drought but suddenly this winter there has been both snow and rain with floods.

There are several points to make here.  First farming in the UK is in a state of uncertainty due to brexit.  Will subsidies continue?  The idea of food security has long been laughed at in this country.  This greens shortage “crisis” should give us pause for thought.  Will we always be able to buy the food we want?  Especially with the other problem, climate change.  This will lead to increasingly problematic growing conditions and associated crop failure.  This greens shortage could be symptomatic of other crops and food stuffs.  Long supply lines could be increasingly unstable and we have to be able to pay for this stuff anyway.

The solutions are not simple and straightforward but we have got used to eating almost anything all the year round (I saw blackberries from central America in the supermarket last week).  This surely has to change as does the lack of growing stuff at home.

Neil

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