Independent UK: Britain's food revolution

[marmar]

Digging for victory: Britain's food revolution
The UK must become more self-sufficient and increase food production on a big scale to cope with dwindling global sources

By Martin Hickman
Sunday, 9 August 2009


Britain is to commit itself to a massive increase in domestic food production to feed the population in the next 40 years, The Independent on Sunday has learnt. The UK will announce tomorrow that it intends to "play a full part" in meeting a United Nations target of raising food production by 70 per cent by 2050.

The surge in homegrown crops and meat – which has echoes of the Dig for Victory campaign of the Second World War – is needed to cope with rising global population levels and crop failures and water scarcity caused by climate change.

British officials are increasingly concerned that food supplies will come under strain as a result of rocketing demand from newly prosperous and powerful nations such as China and India. Self-sufficiency has fallen in recent years, and only about 60 per cent of the food British people eat comes from the UK.

Tomorrow, the Secretary of State for the Environment, Hilary Benn, will set out the scale of the problem and challenge farmers to raise output rapidly while cutting greenhouse gases. In the search for a new green revolution, he will say new research is needed to develop new crop breeds and techniques. Manufacturers, retailers and households will be urged to cut current massive levels of waste. Households can help by growing more food in back gardens and allotments.

Civil servants described the new food strategy as a "wake-up call" for farmers, retailers and the public. ..............(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/house-and-home/gardening/digging-for-victory-britains-food-revolution-1769697.html

[izquierdista]

1. Levels of waste

It's amazing the tonnage of food that spoils in the current distribution system, only be sent to the landfill to be buried. I would wager that the amount is greater that the amount of feed fed to chickens and probably a goodly percentage of the feed fed to hogs. More attention needs to be paid to the back end of the food distribution system than just tossing it in the dumpster.