A fascinating but disturbing article in yesterday's Sunday Telegraph revealed that a huge amount of food sold over the Christmas period first sees light in Britain when it's placed on the supermarket shelf.
Importing food isn't a new thing - before the outbreak of the Second World War a staggering amount was imported from overseas. France, Denmark, Belgium, Holland and Luxembourg previously supplied 1, 750, 000 tons of the stuff. It's an unpleasant but undeniable truth that paying to have food flown thousands of miles across the world is cheaper than growing it five miles down the road. But why? And is there no way that this can be changed?
The Telegraph reports that the staple of the Christmas diet - turkey - may land on our plates from Brazil, Chile, Poland or France. Goose might have plodded along on Hungarian or German soil (well, only if it were free range), while that Scottish classic, salmon, is really from China.
It's all too easy to turn a blind eye to where your food comes from, and in these times of austerity most of us simply can't afford to buy according to our morals. We know that vegetables from the UK will suppport local farmers, but when those from Spain or Israel are half the price, this becomes an expensive principle to stick to.
During the Second World War, the UK was forced to 'mend its ways' and turn to itself for produce; and though times were hard, people managed. In today's world of speed and convenience, food importing has become out of control. It might seem an obvious statement, but if we cut the overseas competition British farmers might stand a chance - and British food might become far more affordable.
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