The government of the United Kingdom has called on Britons to eat seasonal vegetables – specifically choosing turnips over tomatoes – as fears of food rationing arise.
The move followed rationing at four British groceries in response to a shortage of vegetables such as cucumbers, lettuce and tomatoes that could last up to a month.
During a Feb. 23 parliamentary session at the House of Commons, British Environment Secretary Therese Coffey said Downing Street expects the food shortage situation to "last about another two to four weeks." Alongside this, experts have warned that food prices could soar "sky high" at the same time.
This led to British lawmaker Selaine Saxby, the member of Parliament (MP) representing North Devon, to propose seasonal eating as a possible solution to help resolve the food shortage. Just like Saxby, Coffey is a member of the Conservative (Tory) Party, serving as MP for Suffolk Coastal.
"I wonder if my right honorable friend agrees with me that actually the supermarkets are still importing far too much produce for us and that actually we should be eating more seasonally and supporting our own British farmers?" Saxby asked the environment minister. "And if we were actually to move to a seasonal line of eating, many of these problems would be avoided and there are great food products available from local farmers at this time."
Coffey replied: "[It is] important to make sure that we cherish the specialisms that we have in this country. A lot of people would be eating turnips right now rather than thinking necessarily about aspects of lettuce, tomatoes and similar [vegetables]." Nevertheless, she was "conscious that consumers want a year-round choice and that is what our supermarkets, food producers and growers around the world try to satisfy."
British grocers have begun rationing
While the issue of rationing has been discussed in the halls of Parliament, grocers themselves have already imposed limits on the number of vegetables customers can buy at any one time.
Customers at Tesco can buy up to three tomatoes, three peppers and three cucumbers in one visit. Competitor Asda expanded its limits to other vegetables, however, as Britons heading over to their local Asda can only buy a maximum of three packs of lettuce, salad greens, broccoli, cauliflower and raspberries with every visit. (Related: FOOD RATIONING: British supermarkets Asda and Lidl now limiting the number of eggs customers can buy.)
Other supermarkets did not put limits in place.
Co-op told the BBC that there were "no plans to introduce limits" on fruit and vegetable purchases, something M&S likewise stated. Sainsbury's said it had "no purchase limits in place" at present. Lidl and Waitrose also followed suit, saying that no limits on fresh produce purchases have been introduced in their stores.
The tomato shortage could last until May, with the U.K.'s biggest grower hinting that it could take months before the vegetables growing in the country could be harvested. Many Britons have resorted to ordering tomato seeds to plant in their own backyard gardens.
Packs of tomato seeds have become best-sellers on Amazon, landing in the No. 1 spot for the vegetable seed section. They have also made it to the top spot on the Waitrose website. So high was the demand that several tomato seed packs are already out of stock at both Asda and Tesco.
Head over to FoodRationing.news for more stories about purchase limits in groceries.
Watch this video that expounds on the "planned" food shortages in America.
Watch the video below to know about the "planned" food shortages in America.
This video is from the True Thoughts channel on Brighteon.com.
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Farmers and food producers warn of food shortages in Europe due to soaring energy prices.
UK rationing produce as country grapples with severe shortage of tomatoes and other vegetables.
California heatwave affecting quality and supply of fresh produce in US supermarkets.
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