Celebrity gardener Monty Don has fallen foul of the fresh produce trade once again, this time in his new role of incoming president of the Soil Association.
Speaking at the Hay Festival last week, Don was introduced by Soil Association director Patrick Holden before calling for a national policy on food self-sufficiency and on the organic body to mobilise the UK’s 11 million gardeners, and transform attitudes to food and the environment.
He told the audience that the association should become a people’s campaigning body. “You have to become a rabble,” he said. “…Subvert the system from the ground up.”
The one-time TV gardener, who recently retired from his BBC job following a stroke, also said there should be “a national policy on self-sufficiency in staple foods”, and controversially advocated limited imports. “Maybe third-world countries have to suffer as a result of our national food policy,” said Don. “We should be trying to make third-world countries resilient so they don’t have to trade food.”
But the Fresh Produce Consortium (FPC) has hit back. Chief executive Nigel Jenney said: “Monty Don lives in cloud-cuckoo land if he thinks we can turn back the clock to make the UK self-sufficient in food production, and still allow consumers to enjoy the wide variety of fruit and vegetables they want.
“His call to mobilise Britain’s gardeners and transform our gardens and parks into vegetable plots to feed the nation is ridiculous.”
Jenney pointed out that around 60 per cent of fruit and vegetables are imported into the UK, providing produce outside the domestic season, as well as varieties that simply cannot be grown in the UK.
“Let’s encourage home production and gardening as a healthy lifestyle choice, but don’t deprive the nation of its favourite vegetables and fruit, like bananas,” he said. “In reality, most people don’t have the time, opportunity or inclination to grow their own produce.”
He also dubbed Don’s statement on developing countries irresponsible. “We live in a global market, and Monty’s statement that third-world countries might have to suffer as a result of our national food policy is irresponsible,” said Jenney. “Agricultural growth is essential to economic growth in Africa - imports into the UK from Kenya alone are worth £100m, with trade providing direct employment for 135,000 people.”
Don’s pronouncement comes as the Soil Association is pushing to limit airfreighted organic fruit and vegetables unless growers carry out additional ethical audits, a move the FPC fears will mislead UK consumers, limit consumer choice, and threaten the livelihood of growers in developing countries.
“There is no evidence that fewer aircraft would fly if less imported fruit and vegetables were eaten, as 60 per cent of airfreighted fresh produce is brought to the UK in the hold of passenger aircraft,” said Jenney, adding that the FPC has now made its submission to the Soil Association as part of the organic body’s second round of consultation on the matter.
In 2004, Don hit out against the use of polytunnels by UK soft-fruit growers, saying the structures were “pure vandalism” and “sort of raped the landscape”. He was also forced by pressure from the Press Complaints Commission at the instigation of trade body British Summer Fruits to print a correction in the Daily Mail, following comments he made on the use of pesticides on strawberries.
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