According to the British media "Independent" reported on February 22, local time, supermarkets across the UK are currently facing a shortage of fruits and vegetables, especially on weekends, the vegetable shelves are often empty.
According to a recent survey by YouGov, 61% of respondents reported food shortages in local stores or supermarkets.
Faced with the shortage of vegetables, British experts have advised that consumers can make full use of the living space and grow their own vegetables at home. This is an idea that not an expert can come up with.
In response to the current shortage situation, several large supermarket chains in the UK have even adopted vegetable purchase restrictions.
Morrison, which owns about 500 supermarkets in the UK, has imposed a limit of two cucumbers, lettuce, peppers and tomatoes.
Asda, which has more than 600 supermarkets in the UK, has a wider range of purchases, including broccoli, cauliflower, cucumbers, lettuce, peppers, raspberries, salad vegetable packs and tomatoes, limited to 3 per person.
Aldi, a German supermarket chain with more than 400 in the UK, has also begun rationing vegetables in the UK.
Seeing the empty shelves and purchase restrictions in the British supermarket of the island country, some netizens on the European continent on the other side of the ocean could not sit still. Netizens in Germany, France, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Spain have posted supermarket pictures and began to show off their wealth, and a full of vegetables and fruits are almost overflowing the screen.
Some analysts say that abnormal extreme weather has affected crop production, which is the main reason for the UK's food shortage.
For nearly a year, the UK has indeed switched back and forth between unusually long and unusually low temperatures, with droughts and floods being much more frequent and severe than in previous years.
But when it comes to unusual weather, the UK is not alone.
During this period, many Western European countries such as France and Spain also experienced extreme weather and temperature hit record highs, but these countries did not have the problem of lack of vegetables.
A netizen in Spain posted with a picture saying: "For the past five weeks, I have traveled back and forth between Alicante West and Almeria (both Spanish cities), all supermarkets... All packed with fresh fruits and vegetables. ”
In winter, Europe's vegetable supply comes mainly from Almeria in southeastern Spain. This winter, Spain, like the United Kingdom, is colder than usual, which has affected production to some extent, but at least until now, it has not affected the supply of vegetables to the continent.
In this way, the problem of the lack of vegetables in the UK cannot be blamed on abnormal weather.
The Independent believes that the problem of the UK's lack of food is also to blame for the new crown epidemic (uncontrollable), sanctions against Russian energy (the British government is self-inflicted) and the UK's departure from the European Union (the British government is self-inflicted), resulting in blocked supplies, soaring costs and labor shortages.
Under the dual effect of uncontrollable and self-inflicted, since 2021, the inflation rate in the UK has continued to climb and is still high, which has largely impacted local agricultural production.
According to reports, the cost of seeds, fertilizers, feed in British agricultural production has soared by 100%-400%, and energy costs have soared by 165%. While food prices in supermarkets are rising, many farmers are still caught in an unbalanced cycle where costs outweigh benefits.
High prices and costs are common problems in Europe as a whole, but the UK has its own special features.
The new crown epidemic, all the countries on the European continent have experienced, and there is no longer a problem of supply blockage. Russian energy, many continental European countries rushed to sanction, although they have also been eaten back, prices are still running at a high level, but people are not short of food.
Only Brexit has become a British characteristic.
The British government began to leave the European Union in 2016, and wanted to get rid of the drag of the European continent and want to live their small life in style, and the results of the British referendum also showed that most British people agreed to leave the EU, so the UK finally got its wish.
After successfully leaving the European Union, Britain's transportation, trade, and personnel flow with the European continent have been affected, and Britain's small life has not been nourished, but there are many troubles, and it takes more than 20 hours to go to France and wait for customs clearance.
After leaving the EU, some of the UK's food had to be imported from outside the EU. For example, British tomatoes are heavily dependent on Morocco in North Africa, and Morocco has also experienced abnormal weather and has restricted tomato exports.
But since Brexit, there has been a shortage of labor and reduced support funds in local agriculture, which has directly led to the decline of local production.
Before Brexit, EU personnel made up a large proportion of the UK's agricultural workforce. After Brexit, almost all of these people left the UK, directly leaving the UK agricultural labor force with a 30-40% labor shortage.
Before Brexit, British agriculture was heavily dependent on EU funding. After Brexit, the EU naturally stopped investing money, and the British government was reluctant to pay, which reduced the amount of money that British farmers can turnover.
The tsundere British had thought they would be better off when they left the EU, but at least the Europeans on the other side of it were not yet starved.
The UK's food shortages may now be just vegetables, and if the UK government does not want to improve local agricultural production, then there may also be a large-scale shortage of eggs and meat.
At present, British egg production has fallen to its lowest level in nine years. In December last year, there were already egg restrictions in the UK.
Meanwhile, meat from the UK could also see supply problems in the coming year. A recent survey in the UK shows that 40% of cattle farmers and 36% of sheep farmers plan to scale back in the next 12 months.