Britain’s food supply would have run out today if we had no imports warns the NFU, as concerns continue for the nation's food supply after Brexit.
NFU president Minette Batters urged the government to prioritise national food security as the latest figures on UK’s self sufficiency continue to stagnate.
Defra figures for 2017 show that Britain produce 60 per cent of its own food, a number that is in long term decline. According to the NFU, Tuesday August 7 marks the notional day in the calendar were the British larder would run bare if we fed the nation only British food from January 1.
Britain's highest peak in self-sufficiency in recent years was in 1989 when the country produce 76 per cent of its own food.
Batters said Brexit has raised the stakes of UK self-sufficiency requirements. “British food production has been pulled into sharp focus in recent weeks with farmers across the country wrangling with the impacts of unprecedented dry and hot weather,” she said.
“This has been a real test for government to show the farmers and the many concerned members of the public that they think that our ability to produce food in this country is truly important.
“We strongly believe that every British citizen should be entitled to a safe, traceable and high quality supply of British food that is produced to some of the highest animal welfare and environmental standards in the world. Home-grown food production must have the unwavering support of Government if we are to achieve this post-Brexit.
Batters concluded: “The statistics show a concerning long-term decline in the UK’s self-sufficiency in food and there is a lot of potential for this to be reversed. And while we recognise the need for importing food which can only be produced in different climates, if we maximise on the food that we can produce well in the UK then that will deliver a whole host of economic, social and environmental benefits to the country.”
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