Dustbowl Britain facing 'worst food security crisis in decades' and risk of empty shelves

Dustbowl Britain facing 'worst food security crisis in decades' and risk of empty shelves Analysts says the drought gripping most of the England and Wales has exposed the need to 'structurally increase self-sufficiency' when it comes to where our food comes from Britain is facing its worst food security crisis in decades and higher prices as the punishing drought exposes major flaws, analysts have warned. It came as a former head of the National Farmers Union warned of the risk of gaps on supermarket shelves. Bone dry conditions for weeks on end have seen the poorest harvests on record for many farmers, leading to concerns about supplies of key crops and produce. And whereas in previous bouts of extreme weather, the UK could rely on imports from Europe and elsewhere, now many of those countries are facing the same - or worse - challenges. Most of England is now in drought affecting around 45 million people. It was revealed on Monday that a massive 71.3 per cent of England is now in drought as we head for the fifth record-breaking heatwave of the year. Analysts from the investment bank Shore Capital said this summer’s unprecedented dry, hot weather could damage food supplies and increase our dependence on costly imported grain. “The UK has not been so close to a food security challenge for many decades,” warned the firm’s Akhil Patel and Clive Black. They added to growing calls on the government to do more to, in their words, “structurally increase self-sufficiency.” Farmers and other experts say what is seen as exceptional weather could become more like the norm given climate change. At the same time, producers say the food system is designed around supplying ever cheaper goods to households, even if that means importing from abroad at the expense of UK farmers. Shore Capital warns the consequence of this summer’s hit to farmers could mean that food inflation reaches 5% by the end of the year, up sharply from the 1.7% the Offifce for National Statistics said it stood at in June, but below the peaks in 2023 caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Livestock farmers are among those left reeling, with the heatwaves and drought conditions severely reducing grass growth and dairy farmers already beginning to use up silage stocks set aside for winter. The Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board estimates that UK milk production has been materially impacted, turning from over-supply to under-supply in the short term. Baroness Batters, a crossbench member of the House of Lords and a former president of the National Farmers’ Union, said: “Perhaps the great drought of 2026 will force a rethink; particularly when the grim reality of dustbowl Britain feeds through into higher prices in the supermarkets and howls of anguish from already hard-pressed shoppers facing a new and even more fierce cost-of-living crisis. Sadly this is an inevitable consequence of relying on the global market to feed the nation. “Whether we like it or not, Britain’s policy choices mean that we are hostage to international events. For example, war in Ukraine has decimated production in one of the world’s great breadbaskets, just as the closure of the Strait of Hormuz has hiked energy costs.” Writing in the Daily Mail, she said: “It may sound like scaremongering to talk about prospect of empty shelves in supermarkets. But think back only as far as February, when stores were warned of shortages of salad crops and other vegetables because of severe storms in Morocco and Spain. A similar fruit and veg supply crunch happened in 2023, the same year that supermarkets were forced to ration eggs because of a combination of high energy and feed costs and an outbreak of disease. “Nobody can promise that British farmers can solve all these issues, but having robust domestic supply chains so that we grow a lot more of our own tomatoes, say, rather than importing 60% from Spain, is bound to make Britain more resilient and less prone to see-sawing global prices.”