The impact of shortages on veg and salad due to Spanish weather chaos reflects the switch from seasonal to year-long shopping habits, one expert has said.
Chefs and food writers should use the opportunity provided by the shortages to promote recipes based on homegrown vegetables, added Professor John Martin of De Montfort University, in Leicester.
He said periodic shortages in supply are an inevitable aspect of agriculture, and in the past shoppers and governments were more aware of this.
“In part, the shortage reflects the long-term change in shopping habits which has resulted in year-long, as opposed to seasonal, eating of salads and broccoli,' he said.
'Shortages were acute and far more common in the past than they are at present. The classic example is the 1975-6 drought which led to extensive shortages of many vegetables and a seven-fold increase in the price of potatoes.
'During the Second World War, food was not only rationed but official campaigns were introduced to persuade the population to change their eating habits. Cartoon figures such as 'Potato Pete' and 'Dr Carrot' helped to persuade the public to eat more of vegetables that were readily available.”
The news comes as growers and wholesalers have begun urging shoppers to choose British seasonal veg, in place of Spanish or US imports, as shortages continue on many lines.
'The present shortage offers considerable potential for chefs and food writers to offer new recipes to assist us to deal with these temporary shortages,” said Martin. “Britain has an abundant supply of root vegetables such as potatoes, swedes and carrots which might be used as a substitute for the vegetables in short supply.
'Finding effective substitutes for salad crops will require more innovative responses, but could still be possible,” he added.
Supply issues have also sparked wider debates about the need for more R&D to aid efforts in import substitution, where possible. New MD at NIAB EMRMario Caccamosaid: “As the UK prepares for a future outside the EU Single Market, these short-term concerns over availability provide a timely reminder that the UK is only 50 per cent self-sufficient in fresh produce.
“There is a major opportunity for UK growers to increase market share through import substitution, and there has never been a greater need for innovative, industry-facing R&D in the horticulture sector to drive improved yields, quality, seasonality and production efficiency.”
