Should we cherish our turnips? Why the British food system may need a reboot

The environment secretary, Thérèse Coffey, is unlikely to refer to the last week as her salad days.

The beleaguered minister hit the front pages after responding to a question about whether we should be eating less imported food, by saying that this would mean “cherishing turnips”. She was roundly mocked.

But the empty shelves in supermarkets across the country have sparked a frenzy as tomatoes, peppers, lettuce and other fresh vegetables have been rationed. This has led many to question if our food system is sustainable: should we be eating fewer imported tomatoes and instead chomping down on our homely turnips?

Britain is around 60% self sufficient in food and for much of the year produces more than enough fruit and veg to go around. But this is always a tricky time of year: the late winter months are known as the “hungry gap”, and yield little more than root vegetables and brassicas. This means lots of fresh food is imported, but bad weather in Morocco and Spain has impacted yields, causing empty shelves here.

Farming campaign group Sustain says empty shelves have been a long time coming, and that this is an issue that goes beyond the hungry gap into structural issues in the sector.

Vicki Hird, their head of sustainable farming, explains: “The weather in Spain and Morocco is part of the problem, and it’s potentially linked to wider changes in climatic conditions. The high cost of gas right now is a critical issue for glasshouse producers. But there are also complications linked to our relationship with European trade partners and a new trade deal three years ago with Morocco which set up differential trade arrangements. Bizarrely it means there’s now more friction, meaning it’s easier for Morrocco to trade with Europe than us.

“Also UK growers are clear they can’t buy and plant seeds or fruit trees, with costs sky high, but no farmgate prices increase to match.”

So, could we grow fruit and veg indoors in the UK during the winter ? Until we have a renewable energy system, this is expensive. Guy Singh-Watson, who runs Riverford vegetable box company, said that growing tomatoes and other tender crops outside the summer season in the UK “requires an extraordinary amount of fossil fuels” and was “complete madness” if the carbon footprint was considered.

“I’m not an advocate of an 100% UK-produced diet. I don’t think that is realistic but I think we could eat a hell of a lot more grown here,” he said. He points out that they still have reasonable supply of peppers and tomatoes, because they offer farmers a good price. Supermarkets have previously operated on a race to the bottom, Singh-Watson argues, setting low, fixed prices for farmers which do not change when bad weather or rising input costs come into play.

Rebecca Laughton, head of horticulture at the Landworkers Alliance said we could in fact have salad sustainably in the UK in winter, if we just made some different choices.

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“There are many other delicious winter vegetables besides turnips! While I love turnips, it feels highly political that these have been chosen, instead of leeks, kale, cabbage, carrots, parsnips, spinach, winter salad, brassicas … the list could go on,” she said.

“The government seems to be focused on hi-tech solutions to the horticultural crisis, such as vertical farming, hi-tech glasshouses and automation. Yes, vertical farming might give us strawberries and salad leaves all year round, but it isn’t going to produce the volume of greens, root vegetables, salads and other veg that we need to nourish the UK population. It is perfectly possible to grow abundant winter salad leaves in unheated polytunnels and glasshouses using soil not hydroponics, and at this time of year they really are abundant.”

She added that instead of rushing to a supermarket to stock up on turnips, people could be more mindful about where they bought from: “At present, supermarkets dominate fresh produce sales, accounting for approximately 95% of the market. Growers who sell through ‘farmer focussed routes to market’ are able to gain better prices for their produce, which means more money from the ‘customer spend’ goes to support organic land management practices, the real living wage for workers and better working conditions.” Those benefitting could be a local greengrocer, farm shop, or a vegetable box company.

But whatever the question, Singh-Watson, said, turnips were not the answer: “Winter turnips are an abomination. Very different from spring and summer varieties. We don’t grow them. Wouldn’t want to inflict them on our customers.”