Food security under threat from climate change, warns think tank

Soil Association says extreme weather will cause food shortages, urging the government to back climate-resilient farming such as restoring soil health and integrating trees on farms

British food security is being threatened by the impact of climate change, both at home and in the countries from which it imports products, warns the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU) think tank.

UK farmers grow many traditional, seasonal crops, like potatoes, onions, wheat, cauliflower and sugar. But extreme heat, drought and flooding are wreaking havoc with farming schedules; climate change caused rain to be 20% heavier this winter, which delayed planting and caused crops to rot underwater. Unpredictable oil and gas prices also made it too expensive for some providers, like those growing tomatoes in heated greenhouses.

Overall, this reduced self-sufficiency across all UK farming sectors from 86% to 78% by volume, says the ECIU. Imports from the Mediterranean and western Europe fill the shortfall when conditions are unsuitable for growing, but these ‘back-up’ supplies are also being hit by extreme weather.

“We import half of what we eat, and as worsening climate extremes hit harvests, British average household food bills rose £360 over the last two years,” said Gareth Redmond-King, Head of International Programme at ECIU. “Crops overseas are hit by heat and drought…The result is prices of staples we grow at home, and import, are both pushed up by shortages.”

Tom Bradshaw, President National Farmers Union (NFU) said, “Food from other countries will always form a proportion of our daily diets, but we must recognise the vulnerability of global food supply chains and the importance of a stable food supply here at home to our nation’s health, as well as its vital contribution to our economy.

“Farmers produce the raw ingredients that underpin our food. That is why investment in Britain’s farming sector is so important, so where we can increase self-sufficiency in homegrown foods, we do.”

“Extreme weather is impacting farmers both abroad and at home, which will increasingly drive shortages on supermarket shelves and push our own growers to leave the industry.”

Lucia Monje-Jelfs, Senior Policy Officer, Soil Association said: “Extreme weather is impacting farmers both abroad and at home, which will increasingly drive shortages on supermarket shelves and push our own growers to leave the industry. Our huge reliance on imported fruit and veg increases the scale of the problem. It will impact the price and availability of healthy, fresh produce, making it even harder for people to eat their five-a-day.”

For long-term, healthy food security, the government must back farming practices which support climate-resilience like restoring soil health and integrating trees on farms. Fruit and vegetable production must also be scaled-up “with a UK-wide strategy that gets more British people eating healthy British food that has been produced by nature-friendly methods,” Monje-Jelfs added.

The previous government offered £80 million to "turbocharge" the UK's horticulture sector to ensure the UK is not overly reliant on imports, with a particular focus on fruit and vegetables after a national food security index found 17% of fruit and 55% of vegetables consumed in the UK are grown here.

Redmond-King also said: “Farmers need support to manage flooding at home, and climate finance to build resilience in poorer nations – for peoples’ livelihoods, and to secure our food supplies,” but that achieving net zero was key to avoiding food shortages.

This could include support schemes like Environmental Land Management Schemes (ELMS) which incentivise improved soil health, and the planting of more hedgerows and trees to protect against flooding, as well as supporting farmers to develop more sustainable and resilient methods that can better cope with extreme weather.