Britons will struggle to put food on table as heatwaves become the norm, scientists warn

Britons will struggle to put food on table as heatwaves become the norm, scientists warn British farmers are facing a crisis as severe weather events cause harvests to fail - Bookmark - CommentsGo to comments Climate scientists have warned that Britons will struggle to put food on the table within a matter of years, as heatwaves escalate and harvests continue to fail. University of Oxford professor Paul Behrens has urged the government to act on the food security “crisis” he says the UK is facing, saying extreme weather events will continue to send food prices skyrocketing. His message comes amid a heatwave that has smashed several records in the UK and prompted experts to issue stark warnings about increasingly frequent extreme heat events. “Farmers are contending with an endless sequence of really extreme rain, heat, drought, and storm events, and this is all affecting the way in which we're growing food,” Mr Behrens told The Independent. “We've seen yields first stagnate and then drop in the country. We're seeing farmers struggling with feeding animals during floods, because if the animals can't go to pasture, then they have to buy and feed during the winter.” He said the tipping point could come within a couple of years, and it will be the poorest people who suffer first. A report from the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit found three of the five worst cereals and oilseed harvests on record in England have occurred this decade, following periods of extreme weather. The think tank also found that a third of food price increases in 2023 were driven by climate change. Mr Behrens said the UK was already seeing several foods affected, including corn, beef, olive oil, cocoa, and coffee, but he expects climate change to affect the inflation of all foods eventually. He accused the government of not taking the issue seriously enough or acting with the urgency he believes is required. “We need to be eating more plants, that's true for the impacts of climate change, but also for resilience,” he added. “We need to reduce our waste, we need to improve our productivity. “We need more food resilience policies and nutrient resilience policies at local, regional, and national levels, and those things needed to happen yesterday.” When harvests failed during the 1976 heatwave, the UK could rely on imports from overseas, but extreme weather events are likely to hit multiple food-producing regions at the same time in the future, he added. A Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs spokesperson said: “We will always protect the food security of this country and are backing British farmers to create a sustainable future for farming. “Just yesterday, this government set out a clear direction for a sustainable farming sector through to 2050. This is the first time any government has built a long-term plan for farming, let alone one with resilience against climate change at its very heart. “We’re also investing billions in the development of new technology to increase yields and developing climate-resilient crops to help farmers produce more food.” The plan includes an extra £53 million for the farming innovation programme – bringing total funding for this year to £123 million – with dedicated cash for robotics, soil health and water management. The government also plans to work with the industry to develop sector growth plans in areas such as horticulture and poultry, support collaborative models such as cooperatives, and cut EU trade friction hampering exports with a new deal with the bloc. The UK produces around 65 per cent of the food Britons eat, while international trade supplements domestic production to strengthen food security against risks such as adverse weather and disease, the government added. The deputy president of the National Farmers' Union, Paul Tompkins, said: “British agriculture may look a little different to the 1970s, but extreme weather, such as the 1976 drought, is becoming more frequent and more severe. “And 78 per cent of farmers and growers say they’ve seen an increase in frequency of severe weather events in the last 10 years. The reality is stark: fields that produce wheat for the nation’s bread can be underwater one year, then parched and cracking the next. Livestock fields swing from flooding to scorching conditions with little grass growth to feed the cows and sheep that make our landscape.” Hayley Fowler, a professor of climate change impact at Newcastle University, said: “During the heatwave of 1976, few remember the summer's failed harvests, rising food prices, extensive wildfires and the heat-related illness and death suffered by many. “On the 50th anniversary of this iconic event, we are showing the public that these impacts will become part of normal life in the coming decades if we don’t rapidly reduce fossil fuel emissions and adapt our schools, homes, hospitals and workplaces to cope with the extreme heatwaves we face.” Join our commenting forum Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies Comments