The stats come from the National Farmers' Union (NFU) who calculated that if all the food the UK produces in a year was stored on January 1, it would have been eaten by now.
This figure is a sharp fall in self-sufficiency. In 1991, the UK produced 75 percent of its food itself, today it is just 62 percent.
The NFU has called for greater support for British farmers including better technology and measures to reduce price volatilitly.
The arguments for increased self-sufficiency in food production make sense on a theoretical level. However, is it realistic to expect Britain to be able to produce all of its food 'in house'? There are some products which just won't grow on British soil.
Consumers are used to being able to buy products from all over the world in their local supermarkets. I predict that these shopper will be unwilling to sacrifice the exotic foods in their shopping trollies in favour of 100 percent home-produced foods.
More information on the NFU report...
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| English: Roller, West Winterslow, Wiltshire, UK. It looks like these farm implements have been here for sometime. The footpath we are on is part of the Clarendon Way. (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
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