Pictured: Brussels sprouts being harvested in a flooded field.
How might extreme weather affect what we’re able to eat in the future? By Prudence Wade, PA Extreme weather will continue to have a significant affect on the food we produce domestically, a Government report has warned. While the UK’s overall balance of food trade and production is broadly stable and self-sufficiency is largely unchanged in 20 years, extreme weather will have a particular impact on arable crops, fruit and vegetables. The news comes from the latest three-yearly report on food security in the UK, which warned that rising temperatures “represent significant overall risks to UK food security”.
“Food security in general is affected by extreme weather and the climate crisis – the two are linked,” explains Leon Ballin, programme manager at Sustainable Food Places. And few people are feeling that impact more keenly than dairy farmer Patrick Holden, who is the CEO of the Sustainable Food Trust. Speaking from his farm in west Wales, he says: “We’re in day five of the longest power cut we’ve had here in 51 years” after Storm Darragh, meaning everything is currently operating on generators. With extreme weather events, the impacts might not be immediately felt in the supermarkets – but the signs could be there. “At the moment, you probably won’t see changes in what you see in the shops – but what you will see is with some things, the price will go through the roof,” explains Ballin.
“So where a farmer has grown, say, asparagus or potatoes or
Pictured: Patrick Holden - CEO of the Sustainable Food Trust.
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