Research
Setting up the Bedales Food Fund was due to prior research we had done for our Global Awareness project, our research was mostly done on a local level but we also research other examples from abroad where the populace were in danger of malnutrition or indeed, starvation.
Hunger in the UK is different. The UK has secured itself in a leading economic position, but many are still left to fend for themselves. In a recent report published by the Trussel Trust, (a national anti-hunger charity which runs over 425 different food banks) declared that it had given "1,182,954" three-day food supplies over the past year, "a 6% increase from the previous year." They also stressed that "90%" of the food they gave was donated by "generous members of the public." This means that if indeed, hunger does grow; others need to donate more and in more frequency than ever before.
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The Trussel Trust also declared that referrals for emergency food had seen a "16.85% increase" in areas where high areas of UC (Universal Credit) are present. Universal Credit is a "streamlined" system according to the Department for work and pensions: the aim of the UC is to replace "Child and Working Tax Credits, Housing Benefit, income-related Employment Support Allowance, income related Job-seekers allowance and income support." Conversely, the Trussel Trust argued that the "first six-plus week waiting period for universal credit can be serious, leading to more emergency food referrals." Plus the chances of not being able to buy food is significantly increased when various benefits are not enough to sustain an entire family.
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The reason we created the Bedales Food Fund was to help those who are in need, we believe that prevention is one of the most effective ways to fight hunger head-on and become the start of other campaigns which are comitted to the prevention of hunger.
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Bibliography:
UC Department of Work and Pensions
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Hunger and Brexit
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Britain’s food production depends on migrant labour from the EU.
A report from the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee revealed that 20% of all agricultural employees come from abroad, while 63% of all staff employed by members of the British Meat Processors Association are not from the UK.
Example of migrant-dependent food producers:
Hall Hunter Partnership, a business that grows 10% of the UK’s strawberries, 19% of its raspberries and 42% of its blueberries. The 3,000 pickers come from Bulgaria, Romania and other Eastern European countries and without them the business wouldn’t exist.
Pro-Brexit supporters railed against migrant labour from Europe, particularly more recent EU members.
This means that workers will need to be locally sourced.
Consequently, there will be fewer workers and they will demand higher wages, resulting in increased food prices and less food production.
A result of this is that people will have to readjust their budget to meet increased prices. Many low-income people will be put under increased pressure and potentially not be able to buy the food they need.
The flipside of this is that EU workers will not want to come to Britain. Brexit has weakened the value of Sterling by 20%, meaning their salaries are worth less at home than what they once were.
95% out of 29,000 workers at British Summer Fruits, the crop association for berries which accounts for 1 of every £5 spent on berries in the UK, are non-UK EU citizens.
Lawrence Olins, chair of British Summer Fruits, summed up a migrant worker’s reluctance to work in the UK: “Some of the seasonal labour is choosing not to come to the UK because of the value of sterling. If you can go to work in a Euro country like Spain, rather than Britain, it’s worth doing so. The candidates we’re getting are older, they have fewer skills, their English is worse.”
There used to be 10 applicants for every picking job in the UK. Now there are 3.
Example of a food market which will collapse without free labour:
Under Food Standards Agency rules, an abattoir in England, Wales or Northern Ireland cannot operate unless the animals on the way to slaughter are overseen by one of their vets. This is work British vets don’t want to do. They would rather be out on the farm with livestock in the prime of their lives, or dealing with domestic pets. As a result, at least 85% of vets in British abattoirs are not from the UK. The majority are Spanish. And if they can’t get into the country to do the job, the UK meat supply chain would collapse.
Debbie Keeble, owner of a sausage-making company disregarded the Pro-Brexiters angry claims of migrants seizing Britain’s jobs and exposes the harsh reality of the rapidly-approaching food crisis: “During the referendum, campaigners were going on about people coming over here taking our jobs. Well, they’re not, because nobody here applies for them.”
Brexit will result in less food workers and, subsequently, less food production. Hunger levels will rise, food banks will be put under great strain and whole food industries such as the meat supply chain would collapse.
UK Food Shortage with Increase of World Population
The UK is not self-sufficient in its food production; The CLA organisation, which represents 33,000 farmers and landowners in the UK, stressed that nearly 70 per cent of our food imports currently comes from other EU countries. Therefore, we are extremely dependent on other countries to maintain our food security. However, with the population due to spiral to 9 billion by 2050, severe food shortages are likely to develop world-wide. A result of this will be that European countries could take “protectionist” action and greatly reduce their food exporting, or even stop importing at all.
Solutions
Target Infant Nutrition
Giving children the right nutrients during the first few years of their lives sets the foundations for the rest of their childhood. Awareness should be raised about which foods in which countries are sources of these nutrients and these foods should be given to children accordingly
However, a higher demand of a food results in increased prices; to combat this, more of the foods should be planted. This takes up space that could be used for other foods so the country has to decide through utilitarian reasoning based on the nutrition levels of the food, which foods they want to grow within the country and which foods they want to import
Produce More Biotech
Huge gains could be available for health and agricultural productivity if the promises of genetic modification can be believed. Gene-splicing crops to help them withstand drought and flood may be vital. Pigs and chickens could have their digestive systems altered so that they eat food not required by humans, and pollute the environment less. For the means of even greater effiency, simple greenhouses should be built in poorer countries whereas ones in MEDCs should be upgraded with more sophisticated equipment.