UK apples

A parliamentary inquiry in the UK has concluded that Britain needs to boost its production of fruit, vegetables and grains in order to diminish the country’s future exposure to food shortages across the globe.

In addition to encouraging further trials of GM crops to gauge their safeness and potential, the inquiry states that consumers should be urged to consume their 5-a-day of fruit and vegetables, which it hopes will stimulate domestic production.

Members of parliament expressed particular alarm regarding the UK’s trade deficit in fruit, with only 10 per cent of the fruit consumed in the UK being domestically grown. Despite the UK offering ideal conditions for apple cultivation, production levels have changed little over the last 10 years.

Michael Jack, Conservative chairman of the committee and president of the National Fruit Show, said: “This is a wasted opportunity for UK growers. With good storage we could also supply home-grown apples during the period when imports traditionally come from the southern hemisphere.”

Taking note of the popularity of the “grow your own” movement, the inquiry suggests that local authorities publish three-year plans on the provision of allotments. It also urges the department for environment, food and rural affairs to look into the controversial phenomenon of “food colonialism”, whereby wealthy investors acquire land overseas to grow food for consumers in the investor country.