Supermarket rationing comes from years of undervaluing British farmers: Yorkshire Post Letters

By YP Letters
Published 26th Feb 2023, 15:02 BST
From: Barrie Crowther, Walton, Wakefield.

Why is anyone so surprised at food rationing in supermarkets when farmers and growers have been undervalued for many years?

Once upon a time fields in the West Riding were full of veg. From cauliflowers to sprouts to leeks and the rest. Supermarkets were full of this locally named produce.

So what’s gone wrong?

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Empty tomato shelves at a Waitrose store, Maidenhead, Berkshire. National Farmers' Union (NFU) deputy president Tom Bradshaw has warned that shortages of some fruit and vegetables in UK supermarkets could be "the tip of the iceberg".Empty tomato shelves at a Waitrose store, Maidenhead, Berkshire. National Farmers' Union (NFU) deputy president Tom Bradshaw has warned that shortages of some fruit and vegetables in UK supermarkets could be "the tip of the iceberg".
Empty tomato shelves at a Waitrose store, Maidenhead, Berkshire. National Farmers' Union (NFU) deputy president Tom Bradshaw has warned that shortages of some fruit and vegetables in UK supermarkets could be "the tip of the iceberg".

The profit in growing these crops is next to nothing, inspired by the supermarkets' reluctance to pay a proper price to the producer.

As a result, there is a shortage of home grown veg.

A very appropriate quote is ‘Pigs will never follow a man with an empty swill bucket’, which is the way farmers are feeling today.

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Related topics:Yorkshire PostWakefield