Should the UK pursue self sufficiency for environmental and security reasons?

[mattster]

Charming.

[vetran]

Sure. If you want the country to be poor, since people who could otherwise be generating wealth will be growing potatoes.

Greta would be proud of you.

Yes cause planting seeds is laborious (prior of course to Jethro Tull) and harvesting is terribly difficult (without a combine harvester etc). One of course could use Hydroponics or similar.

https://www.thegrocer.co.uk/sourcing...0two%20decades.

Yes we could be as poor as the Netherlands.

Despite having roughly a third of the UK’s crop area, the Netherlands is the second largest exporter of fruit & veg in value terms, behind only the US. Its exports amount to €11.3bn (though it still imports €7.6bn worth, the majority being fruit).

Much of the country’s production comes from 4,900 hectares of hi-tech glasshouses, with nutritious soils and low-impact farming practices helping it to boost productivity in field crops like onions.

Despite cultivating less than a fifth of the EU’s overall onion area, it accounts for 26.4% of its harvest, according to EU stats.

As we have seen with population and nationalism rising everywhere food will become scarce.

https://www.countryfile.com/news/can...-after-brexit/

[Whorty]

In light of Vaccine wars, import & export issues etc should we aim to be mostly self sufficient growing enough food and technology that we need to import significantly less from corrupt regimes like China and the EU?

Fewer food miles, we know 7 year olds or slave labour aren't assembling our phones or trainers etc.

You go first. Let us know how it goes for you and your family.

[TwoWolves]

I don't think most of those points are even possible any more. Nevertheless, we should at least reduce our dependence on imports on quite a few fronts.

1. Microchips - no reason why we shouldn't do more here, for security reasons more than anything.
2. Food - stop building on the most fertile soil, farm it.
3. Energy - build more nuclear, open old [coal] mines.
4. Drugs/PPE - need to bring some of these home so we can always at least have some local capability here.
5. Fish - bring fishing home, ban quotas & throwback. Deep trawl ban to save habitats.

[AtW]

I wonder how long we could actually last as a nation if all imports were cut off overnight?

Gsmmons are working on it...

[NotAllThere]

Gsmmons are working on it...

All the gammon will be exported. Only rich people will have access to it in the UK.

[Whorty]

Yes cause planting seeds is laborious (prior of course to Jethro Tull) and harvesting is terribly difficult (without a combine harvester etc). One of course could use Hydroponics or similar.

https://www.thegrocer.co.uk/sourcing...0two%20decades.

Yes we could be as poor as the Netherlands.



As we have seen with population and nationalism rising everywhere food will become scarce.

https://www.countryfile.com/news/can...-after-brexit/

Go do it then.

Why not, starting today, stop buying any foodstuffs not grown in the UK. Show us how easy it is.

Or are you one of those who wants others to invest and do the hard work for you, but you can still live your current lifestyle?

[SueEllen]

Go do it then.

Why not, starting today, stop buying any foodstuffs not grown in the UK. Show us how easy it is.

Or are you one of those who wants others to invest and do the hard work for you, but you can still live your current lifestyle?

He can go and join Swampy in his commune. They've got it all sorted....

[ladymuck]

Despite all the trolling on all sides, there is some merit to the idea of investing in a more self-sustainable future.

We will never be fully self sufficient, as there will always be a market for goods that we can't produce here, but there is a heck of a lot across all industries that has been lost in the drive towards becoming a service economy. The problem we have is that no-one wants to do the hard jobs. They don't pay enough, or the physical toll is too much, or they simply don't have the appeal of a nice, clean desk job.

The importing of all manner of goods has driven down prices such that the public would baulk at paying the real cost of them if they were produced in the UK according to our wage and employment laws. They don't care that a 7 year old is paid a penny a day and works 16 hours days, as long as they get the thing they want for the lowest price. UK consumers are not ethical consumers if it means they have to pay more. That, to me, is the biggest hurdle to overcome.

There's a huge amount of work needed to bring all that back 'in house'. I really think an minister for onshoring UK industry should be appointed to to find out what investment is needed, what incentives are needed, and get started with some small scale projects to test out ideas.

From a small acorn, a mighty oak may grow.

[BlasterBates]

Despite all the trolling on all sides, there is some merit to the idea of investing in a more self-sustainable future.

We will never be fully self sufficient, as there will always be a market for goods that we can't produce here, but there is a heck of a lot across all industries that has been lost in the drive towards becoming a service economy. The problem we have is that no-one wants to do the hard jobs. They don't pay enough, or the physical toll is too much, or they simply don't have the appeal of a nice, clean desk job.

The importing of all manner of goods has driven down prices such that the public would baulk at paying the real cost of them if they were produced in the UK according to our wage and employment laws. They don't care that a 7 year old is paid a penny a day and works 16 hours days, as long as they get the thing they want for the lowest price. UK consumers are not ethical consumers if it means they have to pay more. That, to me, is the biggest hurdle to overcome.

There's a huge amount of work needed to bring all that back 'in house'. I really think an minister for onshoring UK industry should be appointed to to find out what investment is needed, what incentives are needed, and get started with some small scale projects to test out ideas.

From a small acorn, a mighty oak may grow.

If you want an example of self-sufficiency, look no further than the EU, which is self-sufficient in all areas apart from oil and gas and certain raw materials, and there's not lot you can do about that. The US and China are also self sufficient. The UK is too small.