UK food shortages/prices/production madness

[2mmMark]

On 25/02/2023 at 22:48, Michael Hodgson said:

I can't say I'm worried about the shortage of turnips

Didn't someone quite well known once say  "the lady's not for turnip"

[AY Mod]

We never had these shortages before self-contained tanks ;)

 

[Kylestrome]

On 25/02/2023 at 23:48, Michael Hodgson said:

I can't say I'm worried about the shortage of turnips

 

Or swedes* for that matter.

 

*But I'm OK with the Scandinavian ones

Edited February 27, 2023 by Kylestrome

[melmerby]

8 minutes ago, AY Mod said:

We never had these shortages before self-contained tanks ;)

 

There were some growing wild at the bottom of  that "Green Wall" by New St Station, pre Covid

[melmerby]

Someone was bleating on TV the other day about government food policies forcing people to rely on imported tomatoes and lettuce and hence the shortages right now.

Since when have tomatoes and lettuce been grown in winter in the UK, wihout using vast amounts of energy to heat the greenhouses?

 

I haven't had  any fresh tomatoes for ages, the last time we had any was when my home grown ones ran out in December.

[tomparryharry]

This is a bit controversial, but here goes...

 

A lot of this is theatre, pure & simple. Or, more crudely, profiteering. Welsh cheese has doubled in price, but the stuff is made in Wales! How?

 

On a positive note.. I'm going around the shopping, and looking at the prices... "Nope, I can't justify that" seems to be the norm right now. 

 

Lost nearly 3 stone since Christmas; feel better for it as well. 

 

 

[Enterprisingwestern]

21 minutes ago, tomparryharry said:

This is a bit controversial, but here goes...

 

A lot of this is theatre, pure & simple. Or, more crudely, profiteering. Welsh cheese has doubled in price, but the stuff is made in Wales! How?

 

On a positive note.. I'm going around the shopping, and looking at the prices... "Nope, I can't justify that" seems to be the norm right now. 

 

Lost nearly 3 stone since Christmas; feel better for it as well. 

 

 

 

I lose thirty pounds every time I go to a supermarket.

 

Mike.

[fulton]

Just been to my local Morrisons, could not detect any shortage, tomatoes, lettuce everything seemed to be there, as noted above should we really be expecting to buy these items in the middle of winter? we are losing touch with the seasons.

[Ron Ron Ron]

Our own experience over the last week, shopping for us and my elderly mother, visiting Waitrose, Sainsbury’s, M&S (big food hall) and our local greengrocer (which has a large selection), showed absolutely no shortages of any of the fruit and veg items, said to be in short supply.

In fact there’s been an abundance of the stuff from our observations.

The prices have gone right up though, as with most things.

 

.

Edited February 27, 2023 by Ron Ron Ron

[jjb1970]

I was in London for two weeks in December, I returned half expecting to walk into the set of a Mad Max movie based on some of the media punditry and social media stuff, I didn't observe any shortages of anything and London was heaving. The argument might be that London is different, well yes but outside the City and West End London has a lot of rather deprived areas. Visiting places off the tourist track, visiting regular shops in the less affluent areas of London didn't reveal any shortages.

[Liam]

2 hours ago, melmerby said:

There were some growing wild at the bottom of  that "Green Wall" by New St Station, pre Covid

Same with Worthing Beach (or A N Other beach along the South Coast) due to the water companies releasing raw sewage into the waterways which then flooded into the sea and washed up on the beach. Despicable.

[melmerby]

11 minutes ago, Liam said:

Same with Worthing Beach (or A N Other beach along the South Coast) due to the water companies releasing raw sewage into the waterways which then flooded into the sea and washed up on the beach. Despicable.

The ones at New St were probably because someone has chucked a ham & tomato sarnie there, the rats (both walking and flying) have picked most of it but leaving a few seeds behind.

[Ron Ron Ron]

1 hour ago, jjb1970 said:

I was in London for two weeks in December, I returned half expecting to walk into the set of a Mad Max movie based on some of the media punditry and social media stuff, I didn't observe any shortages of anything and London was heaving. The argument might be that London is different, well yes but outside the City and West End London has a lot of rather deprived areas. Visiting places off the tourist track, visiting regular shops in the less affluent areas of London didn't reveal any shortages.

 

Last year, when the press were highlighting a lorry driver shortage and talking of supermarket stocks being depleted, some newspapers were subsequently caught out, having used photographs taken 2 years early, during the early pandemic period, when there was a rush on things like frozen foods and toilet paper etc.

They's simply re-used old photos, claiming supermarket shelves were empty.

There are currently some issues, but the "front line" effect is nowhere near what's being portrayed in the media.

 

 

.

[Ouroborus]

No tomatoes, cucumbers or eggs in Aldi Abergavenny.   Plenty of crisps, so i bought those

[wombatofludham]

[2mmMark]

39 minutes ago, Ron Ron Ron said:

 

Last year, when the press were highlighting a lorry driver shortage and talking of supermarket stocks being depleted, some newspapers were subsequently caught out, having used photographs taken 2 years early, during the early pandemic period, when there was a rush on things like frozen foods and toilet paper etc.

They's simply re-used old photos, claiming supermarket shelves were empty.

There are currently some issues, but the "front line" effect is nowhere near what's being portrayed in the media.

 

 

.

That may be true for the press but Twitter is full of real world photos of totally empty shelves across the UK. It's not a consistent picture but undoubtedly there are shortages and patchy availability.

There is a potato available at Richmond Station.

[hmrspaul]

1 hour ago, Ron Ron Ron said:

 

Last year, when the press were highlighting a lorry driver shortage and talking of supermarket stocks being depleted, some newspapers were subsequently caught out, having used photographs taken 2 years early, during the early pandemic period, when there was a rush on things like frozen foods and toilet paper etc.

They's simply re-used old photos, claiming supermarket shelves were empty.

There are currently some issues, but the "front line" effect is nowhere near what's being portrayed in the media.

 

 

.

Not a tomato to be seen in our large Tesco on Friday afternoon - a time when they tend to do a lot of shelf filling in advance of the early evening weekend shopping. Soft fruit largely absent as well - and at this time of year they usually come from South America. 

 

Paul

 

[woodenhead]

Went shopping this dinnertime, usual Sainsburys and Aldi - lots of tomatoes, peppers, brocolli and as I call it green sh!t in bags.

 

Felt like a normal day at the shops, even got organic eggs at Aldi.

 

Clearly, the problem will exist for some time but it may affect some more than others and depend when you can get to the shops.

[Hroth]

1 hour ago, 2mmMark said:

That may be true for the press but Twitter is full of real world photos of totally empty shelves across the UK. It's not a consistent picture but undoubtedly there are shortages and patchy availability.

There is a potato available at Richmond Station.

 

Anyone want to borrow a long-handled litter picker?  🤡

 

[woodenhead]

1 hour ago, 2mmMark said:

That may be true for the press but Twitter is full of real world photos of totally empty shelves across the UK. It's not a consistent picture but undoubtedly there are shortages and patchy availability.

There is a potato available at Richmond Station.

Be one of those rich people tossing loose food as it's too small to be of significance.

[woodenhead]

On 26/02/2023 at 07:46, spikey said:

 

 

 

Our paper towel mountain from Covid has lost value, we thought it woud be an investment for our grandchildren, but then the price went down the pan.

[TheQ]

6 hours ago, Liam said:

Same with Worthing Beach (or A N Other beach along the South Coast) due to the water companies releasing raw sewage into the waterways which then flooded into the sea and washed up on the beach. Despicable.

They've been doing some research on fecal matter occuring of a beach in Norfolk...

It needed dna analysis to find the source...

 

 

 

Seagulls...

 

[melmerby]

5 hours ago, Ron Ron Ron said:

 

Last year, when the press were highlighting a lorry driver shortage and talking of supermarket stocks being depleted, some newspapers were subsequently caught out, having used photographs taken 2 years early, during the early pandemic period, when there was a rush on things like frozen foods and toilet paper etc.

They's simply re-used old photos, claiming supermarket shelves were empty.

There are currently some issues, but the "front line" effect is nowhere near what's being portrayed in the media.

 

 

.

No lettuces in 2 Aldis in different towns or an Asda last week, same with individual sweet peppers.

Broccoli was also missing at Asda but Aldi did have some.

 

Frozen sprouts (Yuk! but the missus likes them🙂) also missing and Sainsbury's were also devoid of them. (Why?)

There are definitely shortages of certain things in south Brum and Worcestershire.

[APOLLO]

There's a fruit store on our street
It's run by a Greek.
And he keeps good things to eat
But you should hear him speak!
When you ask him anything, he never answers "no".
He just "yes"es you to death, and as he takes your dough
He tells you
"Yes, we have no bananas
We have-a no bananas today.
We've string beans, and onions
Cabbageses, and scallions,
And all sorts of fruit and say
We have an old fashioned to-mah-to
A Long Island po-tah-to
But yes, we have no bananas.
We have no bananas today."

 

 

Brit15

Edited February 27, 2023 by APOLLO

[Night Train]

On 25/02/2023 at 22:39, OnTheBranchline said:

Well if everyone would stop eating meat too - meat production is a big emitter too.

If you dont eat your meat, you cant have any pudding.