Experts have warned that the UK is one global shock away from a food crisis, as the country is overly reliant on the rest of the world for staple goods. Britain’s dependence on imports had made it increasingly vulnerable to volatile food and energy prices, they said, criticizing the Government for not taking its food security “seriously.”
“When it comes to food, we are massively dependent on other countries,” Prof. Timothy Lang, emeritus professor of food policy at the University of London.
“If you look at nutrient value, Britain doesn’t even produce half of its food. We export meat and dairy and import that which is good for health – namely, fruit and vegetables.” Government figures show Britain imports 46% of its fresh vegetables and 84% of its fresh fruit.
In the past three years, food prices in the UK have been shaken by Covid, Brexit, and now Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The impact on food is already being felt by people across the country.
Almost one in 20 British households said one of their family members went a whole day without eating in the past month because they couldn’t afford or get access to food. In April 2022, 13.8 percent of households experienced moderate or severe food insecurity, a five percentage point increase from January 2022, according to an analysis by the Food Foundation.
Source: Telegraph