Drago
Legendary Member
- Location
- Suburban Poshshire
Nine of that foreign muck in the Drago household. I've a pantry full of lard, and that's all a true patriot needs.
Stocking up pantry
- Thread starter MichaelW2
- Start date
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Nine of that foreign muck in the Drago household. I've a pantry full of lard, and that's all a true patriot needs.
srw
It's a bit more complicated than that...
No.
Here's the current stats:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publi...tics-in-your-pocket-2017-global-and-uk-supply
50% UK, 30% rest of EU, 20% rest of world.
And anyone who thinks that trade in Thai king prawns or Carribbean bananas will see us through has forgotten that the legal basis for those trade routes exists because we're in the EU and will lapse if we don't let it renew.
mudsticks
Obviously an Aubergine
i could give you all sorts of facts and figures on all this stuff - its something i'm very involved in - both on the ground growing it. but also campaigning to get recognition of the importance of uk fruit and veg production - particularly smaller scaled production done in an environmentally benign way..
But very briefly we only grow something like 20 % of the F&V that we currently consume in this country - and we don't eat anything like enough for our good health anyway - most of that we consume does comes from Europe around 75%. - not great for food security - or freshness of produce either.
We could grow a lot more in this country - but the industry has been squeezed from all sides - little or no government support - very little of the price you pay in the supermarket gets back to the farmer - labour and other costs are high - and the way farms are run - economies of scale - and low price captured mean that they are usually growing monoculture crops utilising very expensive specialised machinery and imported labour .
I do make a living growing veg - over forty different types ( i just recounted) which is good for crop and soil health - and we don't use chemicals for fertilisers or pest control - because i sell direct through a box scheme i get all the profit - the work being year round means i can employ local people - and because its more 'human scaled' - (with a bit of mechanisation) - people do want to do this work.
There are all sorts of other issues such as new entrants not being able to access land, and not much training available, and so forth but it would be much better if we could get more stuff grown in the uk - done right it could even create more jobs.
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Mugshot
Cracking a solo.
- Location
- London
subaqua
What’s the point
- Location
- Leytonstone
They may be grown in countries outside of the EU . They are brought in via trade deals not negotiated by U.K. alone but as part of the EU. Which means prices going up when we crash out. With no deals.
Yes we do grow food in the U.K. . But we were not even self sufficient back in the leavers wet dream of WW2 . There is less land available for growing now and lots more people. That’s simple arithmetic.
The next one is picking the stuff. Yes lots can be done by machine but a massive amount is done by hand , a friend of mine who lives in Cornwall is witnessing crops rotting in fields as the labour isn’t available to pick them .
So yes the double facepalm works
- Location
- London
[QUOTE 5523774, member: 9609"]I think Scotland very nearly could (as in we produce enough calories, but obviously we need to trade with other nations for a varied diet) But the UK as a whole, no where near, too many people on a little island. At a sustainable level the UK can support less than 20 million people, with intensive agriculture probably about 35 million.[/QUOTE]
Interesting.
Must admit the first sentence made me smile, knowing the reputation of the scottish diet.
On the last bit, I had the impression that UK agriculture was already very intensive. Is there much room for making it more intensive?
NB - not disputing your take on Brit self sufficiency.
Interesting.
Must admit the first sentence made me smile, knowing the reputation of the scottish diet.
On the last bit, I had the impression that UK agriculture was already very intensive. Is there much room for making it more intensive?
NB - not disputing your take on Brit self sufficiency.
- Location
- London
well at least that's a worded response. Your previous one struck me as not worthy of you after some of the games other folk have played with you on here. Seem to remember PMing you my support unless my memory is faulty. Sad that some folks are done to and then try to do. Possibly not too surprised at my age and with my experience.
subaqua
What’s the point
- Location
- Leytonstone
I don’t live on here. And if you read up thread fully the produce import argument has been fully explained . What’s really sad is seeing the chances that older people had being denied to my family based on lies and stupidity.
Mugshot
Cracking a solo.
Back to? I never gave them up!
classic33
Leg End Member
Just in case, where will we find you?
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mudsticks
Obviously an Aubergine
My prices are on a level with most local supermarkets - plus the produce is much fresher and tastier.
I have many lower income households as customers - i can keep my prices relatively low because i don't sell through an extractive middle man such as a supermarket or wholesaler.
ATM only 8% of food pound usually gets back to the farmer - not a sustainable enterprise for many farmers.
The really cheap stuff in supermarkets has been grown using methods, and such poorly paid and treated labour, as would upset you - as a decent human being to see - High chemical usage, soil depletion, pollution of water courses - exploitation of migrant labour etc etc.
The fact is that food is generally underpriced in this country - we don't value or care about its quality - or worry about its externalised effects - either on our health or the consequences of its production , and distribution, on the environment or society.
We almost seem to have a pride in, or culture of eating cheap cr@p - as if its the right of 'the common people' or something - whereas cheap over processed food just depresses anyones health and vitality - its a massive profit making con played on a whole population by the industrialised food industry.
Stuff like housing, transport, and utility costs have rocketed - the actual spend on food has gone down massively as a proportion of most peoples income - Even though you could argue its the most important thing we buy ( after bikes - of course
)The 'true cost' of food - if you take into account externalities of conventional production - is much higher - we just don't pay it in the supermarket - we pay elsewhere.
