We urgently need more home-grown fruit and veg, or we face disaster for supermarket shelves, our health, and the environment
Fruit and vegetables are the foundation of a healthy country. Yet right now, the UK’s growers are at breaking point.
Less than 2% of UK farmland is used for fruit and veg production, while nearly half of all growers fear they could go out of business within a year. Meanwhile, the UK imports over 80% of our fruit and nearly half of all our vegetables. This is simply unsustainable – we need to act now to boost home-grown fruit and veg.
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A perfect storm of rising costs, limited labour, unpredictable weather and low profit margins is threatening to put hundreds of our fruit and veg growers out of business.
What’s more, the UK’s heavy reliance on imports of fruit and veg is bad for our food security. Worldwide shocks, like the war in Ukraine and extreme weather patterns, show how a fragile globalised food system can easily lead to empty supermarket shelves.
This is also a profound crisis for our nation’s health. Only a third of UK adults are eating their recommended 5-a-day, falling to just 12% in children. That could have catastrophic effects on the long-term well-being of our country.
UK growers need to be supported to grow more fruit and veg using nature-friendly farming practices - like organic - without the fossil-fuel based fertilisers and pesticides that harm our wildlife and waterways.
We need urgent change
Fruit and veg production is the vital link between public health, food security and environmental sustainability. We're calling for urgent action from the UK government to help:
- Double the percentage of UK land used to grow fruit and veg
- Increase demand for fruit and veg - starting with supporting schools to serve up healthy, veg-packed meals for children
- Increase fruit and veg production through nature-friendly practices - like organic - that will protect wildlife and nourish the soil
