Guest essay by Eric Worrall
A LSE study expresses concern that if the UK keeps importing food from an increasingly diverse range of sources any climate upset could cause prices to rise and availability to suffer.
United Kingdom’s fruit and vegetable supply is increasingly dependent on imports from climate-vulnerable producing countries
Pauline F. D. Scheelbeek, Cami Moss, Thomas Kastner, Carmelia Alae-Carew, Stephanie Jarmul, Rosemary Green, Anna Taylor, Andy Haines & Alan D. Dangour
The contribution of domestic production to total fruit and vegetable supply in the UK decreased from 42% in 1987 to 22% in 2013. The impact of this changing pattern of UK fruit and vegetable imports from countries with different vulnerabilities to projected climate change on the resilience of the UK food system is currently unknown. Here, we used the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) bilateral trade database over a period of 27 years to estimate changes in fruit and vegetable supply in the UK and the Notre Dame Global Adaptation Initiative (ND-GAIN) climate vulnerability categories to assess the climate vulnerability of countries supplying fruit and vegetables to the UK. The diversity of fruit and vegetable supply has increased. In 1987, 21 crops constituted the top 80% of all fruit and vegetables supplied to the UK; in 2013, it was 34 crops. The contribution of tropical fruits has rapidly increased while that of more traditional vegetables, such as cabbages and carrots, has declined. The proportion of fruit and vegetables supplied to the UK market from climate-vulnerable countries increased from 20% in 1987 to 32% in 2013. Sensitivity analyses using climatic and freshwater availability indicators supported these findings. Increased reliance on fruit and vegetable imports from climate-vulnerable countries could negatively affect the availability, price and consumption of fruit and vegetables in the UK, affecting dietary intake and health, particularly of older people and low-income households. Inter-sectoral actions across agriculture, health, environment and trade are critical in both the UK and countries that export to the UK to increase the resilience of the food system and support population health.
Read more: https://www.nature.com/articles/s43016-020-00179-4
I remember food shopping in Britain. When I couldn’t buy strawberries I bought bananas or apples. Or maybe Kiwifruit. It wasn’t the end of the world that I couldn’t buy strawberries that week.
A long time ago when I studied a unit of economics I was taught that a multitude of independent supply chains for essential products is good, because if anything disrupts one of the supply chains, there are plenty of other options to fall back on. But I guess economic thinking seems to have moved on from this view.
Least of our problems: the UK imports 40% of fruit and veg from the EU, mostly via Dover, in winter months.
If you look there’s another LSE study showing why ports will jam up after Brexit (supported by what the UK National Audit and hauliers say)
The LSE uses imported crystal balls, vulnerable to climate change.
LSE is the Fabian (aka Very left wing communist/socialists).
Too many of them run too many parts of the UK. Fabians should be outlawed from any UK position of power as they are ant-national and VERY pro NWO.
You do know there is more than one port in your country, right? Got that memo, didn’t you? With the death of the EU’s strangle hold over England’s imports, exports and fishing the world will change, and you will sit in the mud and cry. Hopefully someone runs a lorry full of produce over you.
I’m afraid Nature has completely jumped the shark on this. The data they provide does not support the conclusion they make. I would be interested to know what countries they claim are not ‘climate vulnerable’. Are their countries in the world that have never had floods or droughts? Bad crop years and good crop years? If Nature wants to retain any credibility at all they should retract the paper on the grounds that it cannot be supported by the available data.
Any decent meteorologist will tell you that it is those countries closer to the poles which are subject to the greatest climate change. That makes England itself one of the more vulnerable. The obvious conclusion to the drawn from the article is that England itself is not a good place to depend on as a food source.
Come on folks! The UK should simplify its network of food sources and strive to become self-sufficient.
They have the shining example of Ireland, which did this in the 1700s and 1800s. It worked out very well for them…
The food supply chain is incredibly diversified. To keep any kind of root or shoot or fruit in stock year round means sourcing from plots of land from all hemispheres, latitudes and altitudes depending on what is in season and is being harvested for that 2 week period that it is available. Or a bit longer depending on its storage shelf life but these are limited to grains, root crops and the odd fruit crop like apples.
For the record, I do not need to buy a $4 avocado in January. If a coffee crop fails somewhere, I can do without for a couple weeks until the next crop hits the market.
Maybe people should not take their food for granted so much and be a little more knowledgeable about their food footprint. Better yet, be self reliant and get more of your food yourself if you are able. Foraging, hunting, fishing and gardening offer more than just low cost food. It is the means by which you can reconnect with nature, with friends and family, with God and reduce the pressure that you put on “the System”. Being more self reliant gives you a greater feeling of independence. Make you feel more self confdent and improves your happiness and well being.
I’m sure the United States is one of the climate vulnerable countries. Here in Colorado in winter we sometimes have a problem getting lettuce trucked in and on store shelves without it suffering freeze damage. Fresh fruit and vegetables are most definitely frost vulnerable.
Well blame it on us evil truckers. I reckon the left did not like us truckers being characterized as “heroes” during COVID by those that apparently have not clue what a real hero is. So they had to fight back. I have watched the commercials. Nasty white truckers kidnapping girls and doing lots of bad things is the gist of it. First off you won’t find a more diverse group than truckers. Name an ethnicity or race and you’ll find some of them driving big rigs. One heck of a lot of women drivers also. Secondly truckers have been recruited by the authorities to help stop human trafficing and the sexual slavery and those programs have had a significant impact. By the very nature of the job we’re at the places that are hubs for such activities. I carry cards with me that have contact information to pass to a girl if I suspect she is in such a situation though I have never yet had the opportunity to do so, some of my buddies have and have made a difference.
Here is a call to action from the American Trucking Association through the company I drive for:
“The American Trucking Association has asked for our help. On November 17th, ABC is premiering a series called Big Sky (click here for trailer) wherein two sisters are kidnapped by a truck driver on a remote highway in Montana. This program portrays drivers, truck stops, and the trucking industry in a negative light.
The American Trucking Association (ATA) sent a letter to ABC regarding the new series and their portrayal of our industry. If you feel as we do, please reach out to ABC and express your concern and ask that ABC include positive trucking commercials, and Truckers Against Trafficking PSA’s during the series run.
Karey Burke
President, ABC Entertainment
3800 West Alameda Ave Suite B
Burbank, CA 91505
Karey.burke@abc.com
David E. Kelley
Producer, Big Sky
Side Porch Productions, Inc.
11766 Wilshire Blvd. Suite 900
Los Angeles, CA 90025-6548
Michaela Zukowski
Entertainment ABC Big Sky
3800 West Alameda Ave Suite B
Burbank, CA 91505
michaela.zukowski@abc.com”
Just another example of Hollywood trying to create or reinforce a negative stereotype of blue collar types.
I recall a long time ago food shopping in the UK and all you could get was in-season fruit and veg. I think consumers have been spoilt for a long time.
I am currently reading ‘Tonight We Die As Men’ by Ian Gardner and Roger Day. It is a detailed history of the 3rd Bn, 506th PIR (Parachute Infantry Regiment) of the 101st Abn. Div from formation through it’s actions on D-day until it returned to England after the invasion.
The Battalion was posted at Ramsbury for it’s entire time in England including the time it returned. It includes many personal narratives.
What caught my eye this evening concerning the topic under discussion was a picture of a Christmas Party organized by the Battalion for the local Children in 1943. The men started organizing and getting prepared long before the event.
Here is Hank DiCarlo’s recollection:
“I don’t remember who first broached the idea of having a Christmas Party. We started writing home, asking for candy, fruit, and trinkets to be sent to us. Officers got into the treat procurement mode, which helped immeasurably.
The party was a smashing success, and hit of the day, outstripping the sweets and toys, was unquestionably the fresh oranges. The look on the children’s faces, as they bit into a citrus fruit for the first time, was worth all the effort.
The cooks outdid themselves with cookies and cakes and every child present had a day to remember – an ant would have starved on the crumbs they left behind.”
I always buy seasonal fruits and vegetables. My mother taught me this as a child. There are several advantages to buying food in due time: they are cheaper, they are of better quality, there is more choice. And to extend the life of seasonal fruits and vegetables, we use the freezer. But it is better to eat fresh products with minimal heat treatment, so they retain all the useful vitamins and minerals. Vegetarian and raw food diets are becoming more and more popular. I am not trying to popularize this lifestyle. But if you haven’t tried it, it’s worth a try.