The UK’s supply of fruit and vegetables has grown progressively more dependent on countries vulnerable to climate change — and the trend is set to continue, according to a new study.
The report, published in Nature Food, finds that one-third of the fruit and vegetables we consume are imported from nations with vulnerabilities to climate change.
It warns that this is likely to lead in due course to higher prices for important goods.
The results of the study also reflect a change in our eating habits. They show that the UK’s domestic contribution to the country’s fruit and vegetable supply fell from 42 per cent in 1987 to 22 per cent in 2013.
Britons are consuming fewer traditional staples such as cabbages, which declined from 7.5 per cent of the overall fruit and vegetable supply in 1987 to 2.5 per cent in 2013.
Meanwhile, the supply of bananas rose from 3 per cent to nearly 8 per cent during the same period.
Fruit and vegetables are vital parts of a healthy diet. But in 2018 the Government’s Health Survey found that just 28 per cent of adults and 18 per cent of children in were eating the recommended five portions a day.
Higher prices or a lack of availability of certain favourites could make the promotion of healthy eating even more challenging.
Dr Pauline Scheelbeek, assistant professor at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), who led the study, said: “The UK’s current trade patterns and climate change means the supply of fruit and vegetables in the UK is not secure. The recognition that trade is a key component of food system resilience is therefore vital information for policymakers.
“The increased reliance on fruit and vegetable imports from climate-vulnerable countries will, if no adequate climate change adaptation measures are taken in the production countries, lead to fruit and vegetable supply problems in the UK and potentially affect price and consumption of such foods.”
Alan Dangour, professor at LSHTM, said: “It is very clear from the underlying trends in food production and trade that the UK is increasingly reliant on climate-vulnerable countries for its supplies of fruit and vegetables.
"The government cannot ignore these trends or it will be failing in its primary duty to protect its people from future shocks. I call on the government to do more now to support national food production, build resilience into the national food system and ensure the supply of healthy and sustainable diets for all.”
