The picture of a post-Brexit Britain leaves a multitude of concerns that need to be addressed. Among them, is the price of living and how this could impact public health.
A London-based think tank has proposed financial incentives for farmers to use their land for horticulture, as opposed animal agriculture, in an attempt to create a healthier Britain post-Brexit.
The Food Foundation in London has recently estimated the increased cost of providing families with fruit and vegetables, a necessity for people to live long healthy lives, and the predictions are concerning.
At present, the government guidelines suggest that brits should be consuming seven pieces of fruit and veg a day. For a family of four to achieve this, they would have to spend approximately £1,954 a year on produce. However, when Britain leaves the EU it’s estimated that to feed the same family the recommended daily intake of fruit and veg for a year, they will have to spend £2,894, nearly 150% of their current spend.
Already less than 10% of children eat 7 pieces of fruit and veg a day, and nearly three-quarters of British adults are falling short of their daily requirements. A study conducted last year indicated that ‘Briton’s fruit and vegetable consumption needs to increase by 64% to be in line with the government’s recommended Seven-A-Day.’
If produce prices suddenly sky-rocket after Brexit, these numbers are only set to become increasingly worrying.
As a result of their findings, The Food Foundation is urging politicians to put an emphasis on domestically grown produce post-Brexit in order to avoid a public health crisis.
The Food Foundation has identified that 16 of the UK’s 50 favourite fruits and vegetables can easily be domestically grown in Britain. However, they have also identified that horticultural farming has been neglected in recent years, and other forms of farming, such as dairy farming, have received greater levels of support.
The think tank is asking that government officials put policies in place that will allow for the growth of the domestic horticultural market, including financial incentives for farmers to move away from animal farming and use their land for produce instead.
If this issue isn’t addressed, members of the British public could be priced out of healthy diets.