Catherine Scott: Why veg crisis is just tip of the iceburg (lettuce that is)

My village shop seems to have plenty of seasonal produce and I even spotted a head of broccoli the other day - but don’t tell anyone in case there is a riot. Although when I chatted to the shop owners she said she had seen the prices of broccoli and courgettes rocket over the last few weeks so maybe the shelves will be bear before too long.

It seems things have got so bad the some supermarkets are actually rationing the amount of produce you are allowed to buy in anyone shop.

Only three iceberg lettuces a time at Tesco. It is February why would anyone want to eat that amount of iceberg lettuce. A shortage of broccoli would hit me harder as it is one of only a few veg that doesn’t cause controversy among the younger member of the family - that is until it comes to eating the stalks.

Courgettes? While I don’t mind the odd courgette I won’t stave if they are off the menu for a bit.

While I have every sympathy for the poor vegetable producers in Spain whose crops have been decimated by terrible weather conditions, I can’t help but think that a positive may come out of all this.

For how long have chefs told us to eat local seasonal produce?

We have got so used to having what we want when we want it that we have lost touch with what seasonal means.

It is winter and so we really should be eating root vegetables, or cabbage and kale rather than lettuce and lettuce and peppers which are spring and summer vegetables.

Of the veg we important, 25 per cent comes from Spain, which is why we are seeing the impact of what is being called the ‘perfect storm’ in Spain - literally.

The fact we import so much of our food from Europe must be a concern as we negotiate the terms of Brexit.

We import a staggering 40 per cent of the food we eat.

Isn’t it time that we took a long hard look at our agriculture in the UK to see how we can start to become self-sufficient once again when it comes to the food we eat.

It may mean we have to change our expectations but is that such a bad thing.

The worry is rather than changing the way we eat we seem to be looking at other suppliers even further afield. Apparently we are looking at important ice burg lettuces from America now.

Surely it is better for everyone to eat food that is produced closer to home and not flown in from Europe and even further afield.

Let’s use this crisis as an opportunity rather than another reason to panic

Twitter@ypcscott