UKH

only 50% of our food grown in this country

How long does global lockdown last and what is it's effect on food production

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/mar/22/tim-lang-interview-prof...

Done

I’ve a suspicion 50% is enough if we stoped over eating and dealt with food waste.  Still, it doesn’t leave much room for a crop failure does it?

As above√

To be sure

They will take months to grow to an edible size.  And a crop failure, like the 'Irish famine', is not impossible as has been mentioned.  

However we'll be planting ours next week.   

My uninformed opinion is that we will be OK because by the time national supplies run low there will be enough people who have caught it, recovered and have immunity, to unload the ships and drive the lorries.

Hmmmm, perhaps but surely one lesson we can already take from this situation is don't rely on some magic country 'over there' to produce everything. 

I think we will all now look at international supply chains much more closely, and surely if we can all start growing veg like almost every generation before us did it's a good thing on so many levels.  Good for your local ecosystem, good for your mental health to spend some hours pottering in the garden, good for your plate to be full (well semi-full, OK something...) of lovely fresh veg, good for your taste buds, good for all the food miles and packaging to be lost, good for your kids to get an understanding of where food comes from...

So get planting!  Perhaps 'Dig for Victory!' needs to make a come back.  I'm certainly going to be trying to get my kids to help me out in the back garden with our veg patch as part of their home schooling, wish me luck. "You can have your pocket money when you've weeded the veg patch!".

Oh, and don't get me started on the recent trend for replacing your lawn with astroturf/plastic grass because 'it's so much easier to maintain'.  FFS.

Spot on

OK I hadn't thought of that. I suppose we rely on other countries having a surplus they are willing to par twith. We should have a vaccine in 18 months if we're lucky so we should be fine for food for that amount of time? I don't really know anything about supply chains.

Sh*t bro, now's the time to learn!

What I meant was that I only know what I've read on the internet etc. I assume that I don't know anything as I don't work in supply chain or logistics (I think without working in an industry it's hard for me to say that I know much about it). And with this being the internet I could be replying to an leading expert in food supply chains.

But I am aware of the basics like the fact that most food comes from abroad.

PS I do grow veg.

Yes you should be planting potatoes - home grown ones taste so much better ! 

Yes.

Anyone can grow salad stuff, rapid turn around, high nutrition. Spuds are for the long term and only worth it if you have the space. It's the fresh colourful stuff which is grown overseas that could start to slow down. 

For a virus that might mutate there may never be a fully functioning vaccine. 

Food chains are short in time span, but long in distsnce. The UK imports masses from southern Spain, Netherlands, etc.. when the country goes into lock down how much food will be allowed to leave? 

I just had porridge for breakfast for the first time in years. The reason is that my usual breakfast contains eggs, something that has been impossible to obtain over the past week.

Eggs are only one of a long list items no longer available.

I'm wondering if I'm having to change my diet this early in the crisis how are things going to be in month or two or three when the epidemic reaches it's peak?

Looks like maybe the panic buyers were right after all.

Due to the very wet weather over the autumn & winter, the country is already heading for a poor crop of many foodstuffs.

Many farmers got no crops planted and a lot of any that did go in the ground were ruined by flooding.