Should the UK be more self-sufficient?

lots of farm shops in my area "goldengirl" the prices are extortionate .All prices ,meat ,eggs ,veg ,you can buy it all much cheaper at local shops and even cheaper in supermarkets...so farm shops aren't the answer for people who have to watch their pennies.IF we dont do a deal wih the EU prices will rise considerably and as usual its the folk at the bottem of the ladder who will take the biggest hit.Many have to live out of the cheap supermarkets and freezer shops as it is .I really feel for them

I think that shopping is the most political thing that we do but people are very lax about it. That is why shops get away with workfare, fake apprenticeships and suchlike.
People should start buying British is they can even if things are a few more pence. It is quite difficult with vegetables and we should also support African farmers so there are often different issues. I wouldn't but any food from the US given their laxity with GM foods, antibiotics in animals and so on. Israel is obviously to be avoided. It doesn't take any extra time when shopping just a bit of awareness.

Why is Israel to be avoided?

The only way everyone is going to have more money in their pockets and pay for our services, NHS etc. Is exporting I am afraid. Otherwise the money we have in the country just goes round and round and given to other countries through imports. Or quantitive easing . Borrowing money. Just like your own households.

I do not buy produce from Israel because much of their goods have been grown on land formerly belonging to Palestinian farmers who have had their land snatched. As this happened to members of my family (large orange groves in Jaffa) I feel strongly about it. Many people who feel land snatching is wrong also avoid Israeli produce.
Our family nealy suffered from scurvy when we also boycotted SA fruit!

If we all ate more seasonal fruit and veg and bought less imported out of season stuff that would help. Not naive enough to think we can turn back the clock but small things can make a big change.
Of course the vegan argument is that we should get rid of all animal farming and grow crops for human consumtion only. it makes sense but it is going to take me longer to cope without eggs, butter & cheese!

I think we should support ourselves more, accept that some vegetables are seasonal so that we are not contributing to global warming by buying them from South America.

I understand that at the moment there is enohat the rich countries have it. In the war food was rationed and it was a crime to waste food.

I feel the economics of the free market have completely usurped our lifestyle and well-being. We need to focus on a sustainable life which is socially well balanced.

I hope that out of the enormous difficulties of Brexit we will come through with a simpler yet satisfying life style.l

(Second paragraph mistake - errata)

I understand that at the moment there is enough food in the world to feed every one but the trouble is that the the rich countries have it. In the war food was rationed and it was a crime to waste food.

The waste food fed pigs which ran around in the fresh air, and my father kept rabbits for the pot. Others had hens. One day our dog came home with a cockerel in his jaws. He was very proud of what he had done. Dad took it off him and buried it before we could be reported, but being a good dog he kept unearthing it until it was smelly and then Dad locked him up and let him get on with it.
We appreciatad food for what it was then even if the dog got fed one day, it was one day we didn't have to feed him.
I still feel the same about food and can't listen to all these fads which have sprung up in the meantime from people who just don't know what it is like to be really hungry.

Anya.
How the hells bells did the UK manage to feed its citizens before the common market, then to become the EU.?
As for trading with overseas countries anyone remember tins of South African fruit and Apricot jam Just two items from one of many countries we traded with. Delicious
Now its EU countries.
Oh for those pre eu days.In many ways for me the happiest days of my life.
Yes, and for those who were still a glint in their fathers eye we could travel abroad before the channel tunnel and I for one felt safer then than I do now.

Don't forget the question of being more self sufficient in energy. It's all very well having food if we can't cook it or keep ourselves warm. Our dependence on Russia worries me somewhat.

Too reliant on overseas imports of fruit and vegetables that we could grown ourselves

The UK imports 60% of its energy

paddyann.I am a pensioner and buy 80% of my fortnightly shop from a farm shop. The other 20% are supermarket non food items.
Recently at a SM checkout the customer in front of me had her basket full of ready meals.
Her bill would no doubt far exceed my farm shop purchases.
Can you, in all honesty, believe that person could not afford to buy from a farm shop.?

I think it's imperative that we become more self-reliant and self-sufficient and increase our food security by growing more cereals, fruit and vegetables in the UK. At the moment we import a high percentage and there is only ever two weeks food available at supermarkets. It is frequently being pointed out to us by reputable farmers, food growers, processors, etc. that we, as an island, cannot feed ourselves and would go hungry very quickly in a time of crisis. We need to support our local food producers, buy seasonal food and grow more organically. Someone mentioned she would miss the variety of imported food but in my experience the strawberries and soft fruits and other exotic vegetables available all year round taste of cardboard and are not worth buying, let alone eating. Mangoes are delicious - but those you buy here taste completely different to those bought fresh in Africa. Tomatoes are also tasteless at the moment and need to be home-grown, in season and consumed soon after picking. We can grow a wonderful selection of vegetables and fruit in this country all year round and should be doing so. Also wasting less - but that's another story!

sarahhelenwhitney Maybe have a cheaper farm shop than our local one! I do buy there but it is not any cheaper, or that much better quality if at all, than the local SM. I go there more for PYO if I am jam making or bottling & pickling!

janchristo food security is such a reassuring phrase and concept, isn't it?

Our farm shop is expensive compared to supermarkets - even Waitrose!. I can buy home-produced vegetables in Waitrose for half the price of those at the local farm shop.

How the hells bells did the UK manage to feed its citizens before the common market, then to become the EU.?
'Australian Gold my friend - and don't you forget it'!! Australian cheese, lamb etc.
Australia now looks to Asia for its export markets since we abandoned them in favour of the EU.
My DH was partly fed throughout WW2 by the food parcels sent by a relative in Australia.

I looked at our local farm shop last week and decided there was no way I was going to pay over £4 for 6 sausages, £4:50 + for one slice of gammon etc etc. People shop according to their income. Slightly off the main tenet of the thread but facts never the less.

I always grow tomatoes, which last all through Summer, but after that, obviously buy them and have noticed that over the last few years they have become more and more tasteless.So, don't know where we are getting them from, must pay attention to the packaging to see.

rosesared I agree about tomatoes. It is hard to find any that taste of much. I used to grow my own but don't have a garden now.

Not just Australia Jalima New Zealand for butter, cheese and lamb. Wheat from Canada. Beef from Argentina.

Most of the tomatoes are coming from the Netherlands roses don't forget that tomatoes from anywhere won't taste wonderful out of season. This is why Italians live on bottled and tinned ones in the winter.

I agree, but they seem worse as time goes on, even DH has noticed it, and he would never be detective of the year where food is concerned.
Nothing beats eating freshly picked, warm cherry tomatoes from the garden.
I grow them in pots Jaycee do you have a doorway or balcony?

Deedaa I do love tinned tomatoes from Italy, and I slurp all the juice that I don't need to cook with.Mmmmmm.

Tinned tomatoes on toast is my idea of heaven. Even better with some crispy bacon and mushrooms.

We are so used to food that is comparatively cheap. But if we want to be more self sufficient we will have to pay more. Mass production, low wages creates cheap food. Smallholdings and higher UK wages will increase costs. This is why farm shops are expensive.

Good husbandry, outdoor grazing, free range all more costly than mass produced meat/eggs/dairy. Massive cereal fields or small enclosed places creates the same differences in costs.