The UK must stop relying on imports and fix diets by doubling the land used to grow fruit and vegetables and backing British, nature-friendly farming, according to environment and farming groups.
In an open letter co-ordinated by the Soil Association, TV presenters and influencers have joined voices from across the farming, food and environmental sectors to call on the new Prime Minister to back and scale up the UK horticulture sector.
The signatories include chefs Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and Anna Jones alongside author Dr Chris van Tulleken and farming influencers like Sinead Fenton. They warn that if the current decline in British fruit and veg continues, the UK will “face further disaster” for supermarket shelves, our health, and the environment.
The call follows a new report from environment charities the Soil Association, Sustain and The Wildlife Trusts that says action must be taken to boost consumption of local and nature-friendly fruit and veg, like organic. It insists farmers and growers must be given a fair deal and put in the driving seat to deliver sustainable food security and healthy diets.
Campaigners have highlighted the “vulnerability” of UK horticulture, warning that public health will be further at risk if current trends continue and production declines further. They are raising the alarm over the fact that imports account for most of the fruit and nearly half of the veg consumed in the UK, while less than a third of people eat their five a day.
They call for government intervention to back sustainable British farmers and growers and for land used for horticulture in England to double. This would only be a small change to take horticulture from around 2% to 4% of farmland.
The letter to Keir Starmer points out that more land is currently used to play golf than to produce fruit and veg.
The Soil Association is also asking anyone who agrees with the asks of the letter to head to the charity’s website and sign a pledge to say they support homegrown fruit and veg.