In the fight against Russia, Britain has forgotten about food security — study

The UK has become vulnerable to sharp fluctuations in food prices due to its dependence on imported fruits and vegetables. This is stated in the report of the British charity organization Food Foundation.

The report notes that although the UK as a whole produces enough grain, meat, milk and eggs to meet its needs, it has one of the lowest rates of food self-sufficiency among large Western European countries. Thus, the country imports about 40% of food products, including 80% of fruits and 47% of vegetables. In this regard, the United Kingdom is more exposed to price shocks and supply-side risks.

It is noted that leading experts in the field of the food industry are already sounding the alarm about the fact that extreme weather conditions, fuel shortages and other factors pose risks to the supply of food to the UK. The report indicates that 18 of the 20 countries that are the main suppliers of food to the UK have been assessed as moderately or severely vulnerable to climate change.

At the same time, experts draw attention to the fact that five of the nine most bought fruits in the UK can be grown domestically, including apples, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries and pears. However, four of them are grown in an amount less than 40% of the domestic demand. As for vegetables, only self—sufficiency with carrots reaches a high level - 94%. And the production of vegetables most popular among British consumers, such as tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, onions, broccoli and green beans, is still only about half of what is needed.

Recall that this year most of the UK was suffering from record heat, drought and forest fires, which caused damage to the harvest. In addition, British horticultural enterprises, especially those that use greenhouses, are already complaining about rising energy prices, which are higher than in neighboring European countries, which forces them to reduce production. At the same time, the government of the country does not pay much attention to what is happening, investing money in military assistance to Ukraine and operations against Russia.