Wednesday (9 August) marked the day the last morsel would have vanished from the UK’s national larder if its population were fed only British food from the start of the year.
This calculation is based on Britain’s current self-sufficiency in food of 61% – a figure which has stagnated for the past 15 years. The UK produces about 50 per cent of the vegetables it consumes and self-sufficency in fruit is just 10 per cent.
The NFU marked Wednesday’s hypothetical milestone by calling on the Government to reverse the downward trend in Britain’s food self-sufficiency - an aim of the organisation's Back British Farming campaign, which highlights the value of the UK's food and farming sector to the British economy.
The organisation believes the British market is a vitally important one for farming and food production as well as the UK economy, and following the EU referendum the organisation sees opportunities to boost domestic food production.
NFU president Meurig Raymond said: “For the first time in 40 years, the UK Government has an opportunity to create policies which will really work for businesses in the UK.
“For food production to thrive in this country, we need to see policies which will stimulate a competitive, dynamic and exciting farming industry.”
He added: “Increasing our self-sufficiency in food isn’t about closing off the markets we have in other countries or being protectionist about our food production. It’s about capitalising on what this country is good at – we have world-class standards for food production in terms of traceability and animal welfare.
“We have a massive opportunity for British farming, but, if it’s not seized, we risk exporting our ability to produce food to other countries without the standards British farming upholds as well as increased exposure to the volatility of global markets.'
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