Another week, another ill-informed celebrity making controversial statements about food production in a bid to grab the limelight and generate a bit of free PR into the bargain.

This time, though, it is not foul-mouthed chef Gordon Ramsay - who recently proposed that kitchens should be fined for serving out-of-season produce - making headlines, but celebrity gardener Monty Don. In his new guise as president of the Soil Association, Don has called for a national policy of food self-sufficiency (p1).

Championing good-quality British produce and supporting local farming is one thing, but to suggest that in order to do so we should limit the imports we have come to rely on in many ways - especially as a means of expanding our tastes and eating more fresh produce, as well as supporting growers in developing countries - is plain ludicrous. Nice to know that the cult of celebrity never goes to the heads of these well-advised and clear-thinking personalities.

As many of you may remember, this is not the first time Don has hit FPJ headlines. Following his scathing attack on polytunnels and pesticide usage in the UK strawberry industry in 2004, he was forced to eat a large slice of humble pie and issue a national correction. Seems like he has failed to learn anything from the experience.

Anyway, enough from us at FPJ - we are finishing press day early to get down to the local allotments and start digging for our supper.