Doppelgänger
There's only one of me!
One of the warnings about the consequences of Brexit was the destruction of the UK's agri food industry.
Seems project fear is again turning to project reality.
Thread to note supply shortages in the shops
- Thread starter danny la rouge
- Start date
One of the warnings about the consequences of Brexit was the destruction of the UK's agri food industry.
Seems project fear is again turning to project reality.
ska invita
back on the other side
It drastically needs changing tbf - unintentionally one of the best things about Brexit IMO
So my last grocery delivery was missing a lot of fresh fruit and veg. even chopped canned tomatoes. I’ve got some sauerkraut in butt should go to the green grocer this week. I know I should do that anyway, but often it’s not convenient if I need loads of other stuff as well. by the way 50p for a pepper is cheap. I’m sure they are normally around 70.
ska invita
back on the other side
or a hospital
hash tag
Reaching out
I gather that before Brexit farmers were being paid less than the cost of production which is why so many are turning to petting farms, campsites b&bs etc. I think the suicide rate amongst farmers is high.
hash tag
Reaching out
One example of many.
Also supermarkets have such exacting standards when it comes to looks, size and shape of fruit n veg.
hash tag
Reaching out
Plenty of tinned tomatoes in store today, chopped or otherwise.
Doppelgänger
There's only one of me!
The CAP did subsidise farmers and in some cases helped to protect certain crops/livestock and ways of living, however the British government promised to match the lost EU payments. They haven't and instead are rolling out a new scheme. For many farmers the CAP was the difference between profit and loss.
If they go out of business, those farmers will be gone forever, making the UK even more reliant on imports and further supply shocks which have shown how vulnerable the UK's food logistics are...
ska invita
back on the other side
Particularly livestock farmers. Meat will become much more expensive. The world needs to go vegetarian though, so...
lazythursday
Well-Known Member
The CAP was a disaster in all sorts of ways and the fact we can create a more sensible subsidy scheme is one of the few benefits of Brexit. Obviously the government have fucked that up though, as can be expected. And perhaps reforming farm support schemes without looking at the wider food system / market and the supermarkets' role is a flawed approach.
Rob Ray
Weight is meaningless
The failure of farmers in the now doesn't necessarily mean added reliance on imports in the medium-long term (land tends to stay put), but avoiding that becoming the case requires a deep understanding of and strategic thinking about how to rebuild the industry on a more sustainable basis. And for all that the Tory Party is riddled with obnoxious "country squire" wannabes I've rarely if ever seen any emphasis being put on either.
The really dangerous bit is if they scrape along continuing to encourage farmers to fund themselves by selling prime land to speculative developers while also allowing giant agri-businesses to muscle in and finish turning the entire sector into a fertility-stripping cartel setup. Currently that seems to be the plan, voted for by the countryside itself (or more specifically, by knee-jerk generational loyalists alongside the 4x4-toting middle classes who now infest every crevice of the countryside and can't tell the difference between a carrot and a cow).
The really dangerous bit is if they scrape along continuing to encourage farmers to fund themselves by selling prime land to speculative developers while also allowing giant agri-businesses to muscle in and finish turning the entire sector into a fertility-stripping cartel setup. Currently that seems to be the plan, voted for by the countryside itself (or more specifically, by knee-jerk generational loyalists alongside the 4x4-toting middle classes who now infest every crevice of the countryside and can't tell the difference between a carrot and a cow).
BusLanes
Pedestrian
Given a lot of rural/libertarian euroscepticism was based on annoyance with CAP and MPs like George Eustice went from UKIP to Tory, I had assumed that of all sectors of the economy this would be the one they had a fully formed set of plans. I recall reading one or two back in the day too.
But I now think the government/controlling Brexiter types are actually more interested in just cutting farm support and agricultural regulation. What we end up with is less clear but I suspect more like Antipodean farm sectors. In other words, a lot more concentration where possible.
But I now think the government/controlling Brexiter types are actually more interested in just cutting farm support and agricultural regulation. What we end up with is less clear but I suspect more like Antipodean farm sectors. In other words, a lot more concentration where possible.
ska invita
back on the other side
we already have a lot of megafarms and land in general is owned in very few hands
i really dont know enough about it but im not sure theres a lot of room for extending this. Aristocrats and Corporations between them own the majority arleady.
Its very different to former soviet countries (like ukraine in fact) where there are lots of smallholdings to consolidate by (often US) agribusiness
UK has more than 1,000 livestock mega-farms, investigation reveals
Newly published figures show for first time how US-style factory farms have spread across British countryside
things can always get worse though
'The middle classes'? Are you trying to pretend you're not one of them?
Flavour
hang the bankers
Peppers are not in season. It is normal that you can't have them.
Flavour
hang the bankers
I largely agree with FabricLiveBaby! anyway, the prices the UK supermarkets were trying to charge are fantasy-land, no wonder they can't get stock. I live in an extremely well-supplied area of Italy with locally-produced fruit and veg being easily accessible through multiple different points (real farmers markets, wholesaler markets, discount supermarkets, high end supermarkets, organic-specialty shops) at all different price ranges -- and even here I think finding tomatoes at less than €3.50 a kilo would be extremely difficult, if not impossible, unless you're taking proper discount stuff that is gonna go rotten within 24 hours of purchase.
Cherry tomatoes at the coop cost about €6 a kilo. Anywhere between €3.50 and €5 is now normal for your average tomatoes.
Cherry tomatoes at the coop cost about €6 a kilo. Anywhere between €3.50 and €5 is now normal for your average tomatoes.
danny la rouge
More like *fanny* la rouge!
andysays
Love and solidarity
I agree that peppers aren't in season, but it has become "normal" for us to expect them, and other seasonal vegetables, to be available all year round.
People's expectations about availability and price have become unreasonable, as a result of the structural distortions of the food market, largely driven by supermarkets.
Rob Ray
Weight is meaningless
You'd be surprised - corporations still only own quite a relatively limited amount of UK land (far less than the fecking aristocrats and nouveau riche), which is often for land banking purposes rather than agriculture-centric. That sort of land is often leased by smaller concerns.
Farming specifically is still a fairly mixed bag of owned and rented (source):
With 54% being owner-occupied, 14% tenanted and 31% mixed-tenure. It's difficult to find stats on this stuff, particularly on who ultimately owns a given piece of land or is profiting off farming it, but it's not as fully multinational corpo as is sometimes portrayed. Savills reckons there's 194,000 farms in the UK with only 20% of those being 250+ acres and more than half being less than 50, smaller tending to be more likely family-run. Only 1/5th of farms make a profit greater than £75k p/a. Around 6% of farms are signed up with the various co-ops. So somewhere in there seems to be an intimation that there is still a reasonably sizeable independent farming sector, but it's in decline (and old - something like 70% of farm owners are aged 55 or over).
Loads of useful stats here about the industry at large. There's also a really useful survey by the Welsh Government which is obv specific but can probably also be considered indicative. It notes:
Farming specifically is still a fairly mixed bag of owned and rented (source):
With 54% being owner-occupied, 14% tenanted and 31% mixed-tenure. It's difficult to find stats on this stuff, particularly on who ultimately owns a given piece of land or is profiting off farming it, but it's not as fully multinational corpo as is sometimes portrayed. Savills reckons there's 194,000 farms in the UK with only 20% of those being 250+ acres and more than half being less than 50, smaller tending to be more likely family-run. Only 1/5th of farms make a profit greater than £75k p/a. Around 6% of farms are signed up with the various co-ops. So somewhere in there seems to be an intimation that there is still a reasonably sizeable independent farming sector, but it's in decline (and old - something like 70% of farm owners are aged 55 or over).
Loads of useful stats here about the industry at large. There's also a really useful survey by the Welsh Government which is obv specific but can probably also be considered indicative. It notes:
Which would suggest the bigger landowners (presumably including medium-sized farms and up, as well as outfits like the National Trust) and agri-corps are generating the other 73% of income I guess?
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AnnaKarpik
Queen of all she surveys
Not a shop but... No thyroxine and it's been 8 working days since I ordered it! I usually manage to forget one or two tablets per month and keep those strips at the back of the cupboard for emergencies when I forget to order some more. God only knows why I thought last month was the perfect time to use them up.
danny la rouge
More like *fanny* la rouge!
Sorry to hear that. Yes, Mrs lr has been having trouble with thyroxine supplies too. In fact our prescriptions generally have been shaky. We quite often have to trail around pharmacies looking for someone who can fulfil a prescription. Which when like me you have chronic fatigue and chronic pain isn’t ideal.
One of my prescriptions has been having supply issues for months now too. Not an issue previously as my old pharmacist was brilliant and would check with their suppliers to see what alternatives were currently available and then contact the GP for a new prescription, but he's left and the new pharmacist claims to still not be able to access any of their online ordering accounts as well as being rubbish more generally.
ska invita
back on the other side
My mates mum cant get her psychiatric medicine, they've had to move to a different brand and its not gone well
No idea what the cause is
No idea what the cause is
LDC
On est tous des pangolins
In hospital there's been shortages of blood supplies recently (was in the news) and regular shortages of medical equipment like catheters, as well as some drugs.
Went into the large supermarket near me today for first time in 10 days, the fruit and veg aisles were all pretty much empty. Was quite shocking to see.
Went into the large supermarket near me today for first time in 10 days, the fruit and veg aisles were all pretty much empty. Was quite shocking to see.
Flavour
hang the bankers
Totally agree. The modern consumer society where everything was available relatively cheaply, all of the time -- that was built on any extremely precarious and fragile basis (exploitation and capitalism) and the cracks are really beginning to show under the multiple strains of climate breakdown and massive social alienation leading to bureaucratic nightmares like Brexit
Bingoman
Well-Known Member
I hope she ok and getting help
AverageJoe
...
Went to the local corner shop and bought three peppers and two avocado's.
Over Seven Quid.
Over Seven Quid.
Artaxerxes
Look out, he's got a gnu!
Sounds like I need to order my thyroxine sooner rather than waiting till I’ve 5 days left like I usually do
savoloysam
Ready to move into the light
My local Tesco seems to be constantly running out of eggs lately. Is there a national shortage of hens now? 
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