To achieve food self-sufficiency, sovereignty & sustainability we must Buy British!

HAVE YOU ATTEMPTED to do a full weekly supermarket shop recently?  If so, you’ve probably nearly gave up in despair trying to get hold of fruit & veg. For some bizarre reason, tomatoes in particular, appear to be as scarce as hen’s teeth.

But why is this?

There are many, many theories doing the rounds.

Some people are quick to blame it on Brexit.  We understand that many tomatoes originate from the Mediterranean.  However, as this BBC News article – https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-51333314 – notes, the UK physically left the EU in 2020.   If there was going to be a shortage why is it happening three years later?

Others believe that the lack of fruit & veg is some form of artificial crisis manufactured by the supermarkets.  (To justify this claim, they point out that whilst the likes of Tesco have gaping holes in its displays, local shop and market stalls are groaning with products.)  They feel that some shoppers are so wedded to the supermarkets they’ll not even think of going elsewhere.  Therefore, these same shoppers will be so delighted to see tomatoes and the like back on the shelves, they’ll be prepared to pay anything for them.  This is obviously good for profits & for shareholders!

We’ve even read that it’s some of sinister government plot designed to keep people frightened – as frightened people are more pliable & far easier to control.

Whatever the truth is, the National Liberal Party feels that much of boils down to a lack of long term & strategic thinking.

We feel that successive UK governments – no matter of what political hue – have been more interested in positive headlines & ‘optics’ generated by a short-term policy of importing cheap foodstuffs.  

This is because these governments are ultimately at the beck & call of the Money Power.  (If you think that any government represents the will of – and acts on behalf of – its people, think again.  Real power rests with the elites – the likes of banks, the media & multinational corporations.

The Money Power is internationalist in character.  It has absolutely no interest in any form of real sovereignty – in this case food sovereignty.  It also pays lip service to ideas such as sustainability.

The way to overcome food shortages is to work toward self-sufficiency, sovereignty & sustainability.  And the only way we can do this is by promoting a long-term ‘Buy British’ policy.

We believe in a managed move back to the land (for those who want to).  This should be combined with a return to smaller mixed farms in order to get away from what appear to be vast prairies growing just one item.

Growing (and consumption of) seasonal products should be encouraged.  In order to promote organic products, we may have to introduce some form of subsidy.  Any subsidy will be more than paid back in terms of the health of our nation.

We acknowledge that we can’t achieve self-sufficiency, sovereignty & sustainability overnight.  It will be a very long-term process, but we have to start somewhere.  Buying British fruit & veg from a local shop or market stall is as good as place as anywhere to start this process.